England midfielder Beckham, who won the Champions League with United in 1999 before joining Real Madrid in 2003, will be on loan at Milan from the Los Angeles Galaxy when the sides meet over two legs in February and March.

Chelsea, meanwhile, were handed a similarly high-profile clash against former manager Mourinho's Inter.

The self-proclaimed 'Special One' led Chelsea to consecutive Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006 before surprisingly leaving early in the 2007/2008 season.

Should Beckham line up on the right side of Milan's midfield he could go toe to toe with United left-back Patrice Evra.

The France international was keen to welcome the former Red Devil back to Old Trafford but hopes the clash does not become overshadowed by the Beckham side-show.

"Who can say whether it will help or not the fact that all the focus will be on him?" pondered Evra.

"After all, when we played against Barcelona it was all Messi v Ronaldo. For us it is normal. The pressure is normal.

"I am more interested in playing against AC Milan than David Beckham."

Milan boss Leonardo knows his side will face a big challenge to knock out last season's runners-up.

"In the last 16 we will meet Manchester United, who like us have a great tradition in European competition," said the Brazilian.

"They have the same aim as Milan and I think it will be a balanced tie.

"Both teams have Europe in their DNA and, looking back at our past encounters against them, they have always been exciting games to play and to experience.

"It is still early days to make any calculations because the game will be played in February and there is still a long way to go.

"Moreover, unlike past years, this season, there will be a bigger gap in terms of when the first leg and the return leg will be played."

The last time the sides met was in the 2006-07 semi-final, where Milan bounced back from a 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford to beat the Red Devils 3-0 at the San Siro.

Mourinho, meanwhile, can expect an enthusiastic reception when he returns to Stamford Bridge for the first time.

However, current Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti might not be among the throng cheering his name. The pair were regularly at loggerheads while the Italian was still AC Milan boss last season but Ancelotti believes it is time to bury the hatchet.

"If we don't have a good relationship, this game can be a good opportunity to return to a good relationship," said Ancelotti.

"There were some problems, some questions and discussions in the papers. Only this. Nothing important.

"I'm not ready to play mind games. I never will be ready to play these games. I prefer to play football matches. I have experience of what he'll do."

Inter president Massimo Moratti told www.inter.it: "For Mourinho to return to Stamford Bridge will be an added motivation. It will be a very strong motivation for him.

"It is better to feel strong motivations and against Chelsea there will be those.

"All of the teams can be beaten but it always depends on what we can do, hence, it will be very interesting to watch and experience this tie.

"It is useless to have fear and I don't believe we will experience that."

Inter striker Samuel Eto'o believes the Nerazzurri's mediocre start to the competition will have no bearing on the outcome against Chelsea.

"Everything can change in two months," said Eto'o. "The condition of individual players and of the team as a whole.

"Chelsea are an important rival but, in the knockout round of the competition, there is little difference between one rival or another."

Barcelona sporting director Txiki Begiristain was upbeat over the defending champions' prospects after they were handed a last-16 tie with Stuttgart.

"We're confident we can overcome them, but we cannot fall into the trap of being over-confident or of making big predictions," he said.

On facing Alexander Hleb, who is on loan at Stuttgart from Barca, added: "It will be a great opportunity to see how he's doing and what form he is in."

Barca's arch rivals in La Liga, Real Madrid, have lost at the last-16 stage of the competition in each of the previous five seasons, going down to Juventus, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Roma and then last term to Liverpool.

Coach Manuel Pellegrini is optimistic his side will buck that trend against Lyon, but is not taking anything for granted.

He told www.realmadrid.com: "To me they (Lyon) seem just as difficult an opponent as any of those we could have faced.

"But the most important thing is the form the teams are in at the time. We hope we will be at a good level and can get through to the next round."

Striker Gonzalo Higuain, who was born in France but plays his international football for Argentina, added: "Lyon are a difficult team, but at the same time we can beat them.

"This year we faced Marseille and we've experienced how tough the French teams are, but we hope that playing the return match at home gets us through the tie."

Fiorentina sporting director Pantaleo Corvino was upbeat despite seeing his team drawn against resurgent Bayern Munich.

"It is a good draw," he said. "Bayern Munich is a very strong side but so are we.

"It will be a beautiful challenge for us and we will face this tie with our usual spirit of giving everything we have in order to progress to the next stage."

In other ties, Porto will take on Arsenal, Olympiacos face Bordeaux and CSKA Moscow tackle Sevilla.