Champions League football is returning to Old Trafford tonight for the first time since 2015 as Manchester United take on FC Basel.

Having missed out on the competition last season and needing to win the Europa League to qualify this year, Jose Mourinho's men will feel like they are back where they belong once it gets underway again.

As is always the case at this stage of the season, fans and pundits alike have already begun speculating over which English side are likely to get the furthest in the tournament and who, if any, are capable of actually winning it.

Perhaps surprisingly, Ryan Giggs has cast doubt on his former side's chances of making it all the way to the final in Kiev next May.

Although Mourinho has guided the Red Devils to three wins and a draw from their first four Premier League matches, Giggs still thinks there are a little short of quality compared to back-to-back winners Real Madrid.

However, the ex-United star thinks they would definitely be among the contenders had Mourinho not missed out on one of major summer transfer targets.

"You look at the current Manchester United team and you wonder if they can they win the Champions League? Have they got the players to win it?" Giggs told Sky Sports.

"They're probably a little bit short at the moment. You've got Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku, if he fulfils his potential, Marcus Rashford, David de Gea, a world-class player, and then if you add somebody like Gareth Bale to the mix, that's when you talk about United having Champions League expectations.

"Obviously, Mourinho has won the trophy before so we're going to be there or thereabouts, but whether we've got the players to go the whole way, I don't know."

Bale was frequently linked with a switch from the Bernabeu over the summer but never really looked interested in leaving the European champions.

And when asked about the prospect of becoming the No.1 man at Man Utd, the Welsh international insists he is more focused on winning trophies.

"I think the main thing, when you look back on your career, is that you look at your trophies. In the end that's probably the most important thing,” Bale told the Daily Mail.

Nevertheless, Mourinho and United fans will be forgiven for thinking how different their season could have panned out had the pursuit of Bale been successful.