Former European champions Real Madrid and Manchester United avoided dangerous unseeded floaters Benfica and FC Basel in the draw for the third qualifying round of the Champions League on Friday.

Belgian champions Anderlecht were paired with Benfica, European champions twice in the 1960s and now undergoing something of a rejuvenation after years in the doldrums.

Inter Milan, who also won the European Cup twice in that decade, were handed the tricky task of facing Swiss champions Basel.

Real Madrid, nine times European champions but forced to qualify for the Champions League proper after finishing fourth following a disappointing end to last season's Spanish League programme, almost certainly face a trip to Poland.

They were drawn to meet the winners of the second qualifying round tie between WIT Georgia Tbilisi of Georgia or Wisla Krakow of Poland who are virtually certain of their place after beating WIT 8-2 in the first leg in Tbilisi on Tuesday.

Manchester United, who finished third in the English premier league last season, will meet either Slovakian champions Zilina or Romanian champions Dinamo Bucharest following the draw at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon.

Dinamo won the first leg 1-0 away this week, but United, like Real Madrid, should have little trouble in coming through their fixture.

Monaco, who lost last season's Champions League final to Porto, will face either Nova Gorica of Slovenia or FC Copenhagen of Denmark in their tie, with the Danish champions the likely opponents after winning the first leg 2-1 away on Tuesday.

The second legs of the second qualifying round ties will be played next Tuesday and Wednesday, while the third qualifying round ties take place on August 10 and 11 and August 24 and 25.

The winners of the 16 ties go into the competition proper, while the 16 losers drop into the UEFA Cup.

Four-time European Cup winners Liverpool face Austrian champions Graz AK, while another former European champion Juventus will meet either Djurgarden of Sweden or Kaunas of Lithuania who drew 0-0 in their first leg in Stockholm this week.

Another intriguing tie brings together Bayer Leverkusen of Germany, who lost the 2002 final to Real Madrid in Glasgow, and Banik Ostrava of the Czech Republic, whose squad includes a number of players from the Czech team which made such a fine impression at Euro 2004 last month.

The competition proper begins on September 14 and 15. This season's Champions League final is in Istanbul on May 25.