Manchester United will face Bayern Munich at home, Atletico Madrid away and two Champions League debutants in Como and Sabah in the 2026-27 league phase.This season will mark their return to Europe’s top competition after a difficult 2023-24 group-stage campaign that saw them win only one of six games. Michael Carrick and his coaching staff will look to improve United’s recent record in the Champions League, one that has slipped in recent seasons, placing them to pot two for the league phase draw held in Monaco on Thursday night.Still, United are the three-time winners of the Champions League and will hope to make a deep run in the competition.Manchester United’s league phase fixtures*Dates of matches to be confirmed in the coming daysWhich game most excites you?United fans have an impressive quartet of away games to look forward to across the league phase. Bruno Fernandes will be pleased to return to Lisbon to play his beloved Sporting CP and United will hope to get revenge on Atletico Madrid after Diego Simeone’s side knocked them out during the round of 16 in 2021-22.But the glamour tie should be United’s trip to Italy to face Como. The team — managed by Cesc Fabregas and boasting Nico Paz in their midfield — are the coming force in Serie A.Backed by billionaire owners and with ambitious plans for the future, Como intend to play their Champions League games in the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, having built a new stand for the 12,500-seater stadium in the summer. Provided UEFA greenlights the renovated facilities, then United fans could be set for a game of football by Lake Como; a football experience to savour.Which game worries you?United’s head-to-head record against Roma currently reads four wins, one draw and one defeat. However, the gap between the two sides is not what it was in 2006-07, when Michael Carrick scored in a memorable 7-1 victory to knock them out of the Champions League quarter-finals.Now coached by Gian Piero Gasperini, Roma are a resurgent force, boasting a thrilling attack featuring Paulo Dybala and Donyell Malen. If the club can keep hold of Manu Kone at the end of the summer window, they will have a combative midfield that could give Andrey Santos, Carlos Baleba, Kobbie Mainoo and Youri Tielemans a headache.One would expect difficult games against Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid, but the results against Roma (and possibly Villarreal) may be the difference between a top-eight finish in the league phase or a possible play-off position.What is Carrick’s biggest issue to confront in the tournament?“How do United go about protecting their soft underbelly?”The summers of 2026 and 2025 have seen the club spend heavily to refresh the attack and midfield, but the defence largely consists of players from Erik ten Hag’s era.Michael Carrick heads into the Champions League with a back line largely unchanged in recent years (George Wood/Getty Images)Carrick adopted a straightforward 4-4-2 defensive shape during his interim spell last season to help his back line focus on what they’re best at (crunching tackles against individuals in possession), but has now adapted to a more proactive 4-2-4 that relies more on United’s attacking unit to press well. This season will also ask more from his full-backs, requiring them to push higher up the field when defending and competing for second balls. There’s higher risk but higher reward if this defensive approach works well.If it fails, then United could be eliminated from the competition early.Which team do United most want to avoid in the latter stages?United’s status as a pot two side may put them on the trickier side of any eventual knockout bracket once the league phase is completed. Paris Saint-Germain have laid waste to multiple English sides on their way to back-to-back Champions League titles, making them a team that Carrick’s men would prefer to avoid until the latter stages of the tournament.Another match-up against Bayern Munich in the knockout rounds would mean the resumption of the Champions League’s shortest (the two sides did not meet until September 1998) but most memorable rivalries. Yet United may struggle against a front three that contains at least two Ballon d’Or candidates in Harry Kane and Michael Olise — one that has been brilliantly coached by Vincent Kompany.What would be considered a successful finish?Before the draw, The Athletic ranked the club as the 10th strongest side in the tournament. Carrick will hope to defy our expectations and steer the team into a top-eight finish, thereby avoiding a tricky play-off tie across the back end of February.United have not reached the Champions League quarter-finals since April 2019 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The club has since reached the Europa League final twice but has struggled to compete with Europe’s best sides in Europe’s premier tournament.The club has built a squad with the intention to compete on four fronts across 2026-27, and would hope to still be in Champions League contention in spring when the quarter-final stages come around.Prediction time… how far will United get?Another intriguing element of the recent Champions League competition is whether teams can time their goalscoring purple patch for the spring.United’s attack lacks the firepower of that of Real Madrid, PSG or Bayern Munich, but if Fernandes catches fire at the right time, then they may have a puncher’s chance of progressing further than the last eight. The team will need a lot from Senne Lammens in goal, too. The Belgian will want to erase memories of his goalkeeping mistakes at the World Cup.