The Europa League draw for the play-off round of the 2022/23 tournament has been confirmed, with Manchester United set to face Barcelona in the standout tie of the round.
Barcelona were among the eight teams to finish third in their Champions League group and subsequently drop down into the Europa League, with those eight teams being drawn against one of the eight teams to finish second in their Europa League group.
Arsenal finished top of their group so have received a bye into the last-16, but Manchester United failed to finish first and will therefore face Barcelona in a mouth-watering Europa League play-off round two-legged tie.
The two giants last faced each other in the 2018/19 Champions League quarter-finals, with Barcelona winning 4-0 on aggregate.
Both clubs have struggled in recent years, though, and find themselves matched against each other to try and progress in Europe’s second-tier competition.
Elsewhere, Juventus drew Nantes for their play-off fixture. The French side are currently sitting a place above the relegation zone in Ligue 1.
Fellow French team Rennes are enjoying different fortunes in the league this season up in third place. They’ll face Shakhtar Donetsk in an attempt to progress in the tournament.
Meanwhile, unfortunate not to reach the knockout rounds of the Champions League, Sporting will need to beat Danish club Midtjylland if they are to taste European glory this season.
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Meanwhile, Sevilla are up against PSV in what seems a very intriguing clash.
PSV were unlucky not to beat Arsenal to the top of their group, finishing level on points with the Gunners.
Full Europa League Play-Off Round Draw
Elsewhere, the draw has set up a clash between Jose Mourinho’s Roma and Red Bull Salzburg. Roma are looking to add Europa League glory to their Europa Conference League trophy from last season.
Here are the full match-ups in the Europa League:
Barcelona vs Manchester United
Juventus vs Nantes
Sporting vs Midtjylland
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes
Ajax vs Union Berlin
Bayer Leverkusen vs Monaco
Sevilla vs PSV
Red Bull Salzburg vs Roma
It’s set! 🤩
Which tie are you looking forward to most?#UELdraw pic.twitter.com/OvquVAv4rL
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) November 7, 2022
The first legs of the round are slated for 16th of February. Furthermore, the second legs will be played the following Thursday on the 23rd.
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