PIRES BULLISH OVER EURO CHANCES

Pires - wary of United and Celtic.

Villarreal's former Arsenal winger Robert Pires believes his side should respect the three other sides in their Champions League group, but not fear them.

Villarreal, who were shock semi-finalists in the competition in 2006, were drawn alongside holders Manchester United, Scottish champions Celtic and Danish outfit AaB in Group E in Thursday's draw in Monaco.

"We must not fear any team," said Pires, who helped the Yellow Submarine record their highest-ever league placing last season after they finished runners-up to Real Madrid.

United will be favourites to progress through while Villarreal, who were in the second pot of seedings, will also be highly fancied, but Pires has warned against underestimating any of the teams in the group.

"It would be a serious mistake to think that Manchester and us will get through, and we must respect the other teams," said the Frenchman.

First up for Villarreal is arguably their hardest fixture, with United awaiting them at Old Trafford on September 17.

As a former Arsenal player, Pires has plenty of knowledge of Sir Alex Ferguson's side and he is looking forward to the trip to Manchester.

"The important thing is to have confidence in ourselves. It's clear that the game at Old Trafford is going to be very difficult, but we will enjoy playing in an atmosphere like that," he added.

With regards to the other two sides in the group, Pires admits he knows little about AaB but believes Villarreal will face a tough test against Celtic.

"They (Celtic) play a very physical game and we will be just as difficult as Manchester," he said.