Manchester face Celitic in 'Battle of Britain'

(CNN) -- Manchester United will begin their defense of the Champions League in a group containing Scottish champions Celtic, Spain's Villarreal and Danish newcomers Aalborg.

Watched by United manager Alex Ferguson and sidelined star player Cristiano Ronaldo, the top 32 club teams in Europe were divided into eight groups of four with the top two going through to the last 16 knockout stage.

Aside from a tricky 'Battle of Britain' matchup with Celtic, the draw in Monte Carlo has been relatively kind for the Premier League - Champions League double winners in contrast to the tricky tasks facing other leading European powerhouses.

Ferguson was certainly relishing their defense of the trophy and wants points on the board straight away.

"That is a great challenge," he said as he weighed up the draw.

"The challenge is to make sure you get 10 points as quick as you can. I think we have the squad for it."

Group H sees nine-time winners and Spanish champions Real Madrid, Italian giants Juventus and last year's UEFA Cup winners Zent St. Petersburg paired with BATE Borisov of Belarus, who have qualified for the group stages for the first time.

Five-time European champions Liverpool, who scrapped into this stage with a last-gasp Dirk Kuyt goal on Wednesday night, will also be tested in Group D, with Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven, French side Marseille and Spain's Atletico Madrid awaiting.

Atletico, who have strengthened their squad over the summer, routed Schalke 4-0 in their third qualifying round second leg tie.

Group F sees German champions Bayern Munich return to the Champions League to face seven-time French title winners Olympique Lyon, Fiorentina of Italy and Romania's Steaua Bucharest.

Premier League Arsenal, 2004 winners Porto of Portugal, Ukraine's Dynamo Kiev and Turkish side Fenerbache contest an evenly-matched Group H.

Chelsea, beaten by Manchester United on penalties in last season's final, like their arch-rivals have also handed a relatively kind draw against AS Roma of Italy, Girondins Bordeaux, last season's French runners-up, and minnows CFR Cluj of Romania.

Two-time champions Barcelona will meet Sporting Lisbon, FC Basel and Ukrainians Shakhtar Donetsk.

Italian champions Inter Milan, now coached by Jose Mourinho, are in Group B with Anorthosis Famagusta of Cyprus, Panathinaikos of Greece and Germany's Werder Bremen.

Famugusta will be playing at this level for the first time and the inclusion of a Cypriot team means that 17 countries are represented in the group stages.