The competition, part of which mirrors the group stage of the Champions League, will see the Hoops take on Real Madrid first, with Shakhtar Donetsk and RB Leipzig the other opponents waiting in the wings.
Celtic are returning to the Youth League for the first time since the 2017/18 season, which was also the last time the first team made it to the group stage of the Champions League.
McManus believes that there will no better test for his youngsters than to see how they fare against others in their age group from big clubs across Europe.
The 39-year-old stated that as a coach his primary prerogative is to prepare the young Hoops for the first team and that at this stage of their fledgling careers, the competition provides them with priceless experience when it comes to continental action.
“To be playing in the Youth League, you never usually get the opportunity to play against top European players at this age, so this gives them an opportunity to see where they are and test themselves against the best in Europe”, McManus said in his pre-match press conference.
“With the games we have this year, there are different challenges and part of our job as coaches is to try and give the players as much experience so it prepares them for the first-team environment.
“There’s no better test than to play against the best teams in Europe and this is an opportunity as a group to see where they’re at.
“Ultimately the highlight of their career isn’t to play in the Youth League, their objective is to play in the Champions League and be a Callum MacGregor or James Forrest and at this stage in their career it will be a valuable experience for them.”
McManus will be looking to see which of his Celtic talents sink or swim amidst the tough competition of the Youth League.
