Today's draw for the Europa League's round of 16 includes both Manchester United and Arsenal.
Arsenal and Manchester United were both drawn in the last 16 of the Europa League. Because they won Group A, the Arsenal advanced directly to this stage, whilst United had to beat Barcelona in two thrilling legs after placing second in Group E and being forced into the play-off round.
During halftime Wednesday night at Old Trafford, United trailed Barcelona 1-0 thanks to a Robert Lewandowski penalty. However, the Red Devils struck back in the second half with goals from Fred and substitute Antony to advance Erik ten Hag's team.
In other matches, Juventus advanced by easily defeating Nantes, Bayer Leverkusen defeated Monaco on penalties, and Jose Mourinho's Roma, champions of the Europa Conference In the previous campaign, advanced by defeating RB Salzburg.
Real Betis, Fenerbahce, Ferencvaros, Feyenoord, Freiburg, Real Sociedad, and Union Saint-Gilloise are the other seven seeded teams for today's draw, which begins at noon UK time. Each of the teams won its group.
While Manchester United will be one of the eight unseeded clubs to advance from the elimination play-off stage, the other teams include Union Berlin, Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen, Roma, Sevilla, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Sporting Lisbon.
Simulated Europa League draw: Man United has a winnable matchup while Arsenal is tested by Sevilla (Photo)
In the draw, the eight group winners have earned the opportunity to host the second leg. Yet, according to the rules, no team can currently play another club from the same nation.
This implies that neither United nor Arsenal can face one other, and neither can the seeded or unseeded German, Dutch, or Spanish teams play one another just yet. Express Sport has created a simulation of the eight quarterfinal matches, pairing Arsenal with six-time champion Sevilla.
Just twice have the two teams played competitively, both times in the group stages of the 2007–08 Champions League, with Arsenal winning both times (3-0 in north London and 3-1 in Spain). Since then, Sevilla has faced English opposition frequently, and in 2020, Sevilla eliminated Manchester United from the Europa League semifinals.
The team led by Jorge Sampaoli defeated PSV 3-2 on aggregate in the play-off round while currently ranked 12th in the Spanish top division. Together with other well-known players like Erik Lamela, Ivan Rakitic, Jesus Navas, Bryan Gil (on loan from Tottenham), and Youssef En-Nesyri, they have Alex Telles from Manchester United.
Simulated Europa League draw: Man United has a winnable matchup while Arsenal is tested by Sevilla (Photo)
Another simulation by Express Sport has Man United facing Bundesliga team Freiburg as compensation for defeating La Liga leaders Barcelona. The German team had never previously competed against an English team in Europe.
Only three points separate Freiburg from Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Union Berlin, who are currently tied for first place in the league. Freiburg is currently ranked fourth in the league. Michael Gregoritsch and Vincenzo Grifo, two forwards with a combined 24 goals this season, must be avoided by United.
Full simulation of the Europa League round of 16 draw
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