Who Man Utd, Spurs and Rangers could face in the Europa League round of 16
The potential opponents for Manchester United, Spurs and Rangers in the Europa League round of 16 draw have been revealed.
On Thursday night, all 36 teams were in action at the same time in a packed final fixture in UEFA's secondary club competition.
Much like the Champions League which was concluded with 18 games on Wednesday night, the Europa League has adopted a league table format which sees the bottom 12 teams automatically eliminated from the competition.
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Sides in spots nine right down to 24 are forced to play a two-legged play-off, with the top eight securing automatic qualification to the round of 16.
Those between ninth and 16th are seeded for the first knockout phase and will come up against teams who finish 17th to 24th. The eight victorious teams from the play-off will then advance to the round of 16, where the top eight-ranked sides will be waiting.
Manchester United and Spurs were guaranteed to progress and occupied fourth and sixth respectively ahead of the final matchday.
But after United claimed a 2-0 win against FCSB and Spurs beat Elfsborg 3-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the pair of English sides finished up in third and fourth respectively.
It means that the two have the same four possible opponents and can therefore only meet in the final.
Rangers also secured the final automatic qualification spot following a 2-1 victory over Union Saint-Gilloise at Ibrox.
The trio have now learned their fate for the round of 16, with each having four possible opponents which are directly related to final league position.
Possible Europa League round of 16 draw for British sides:
Manchester United - Real Sociedad, Galatasaray, AZ Alkmaar, FC Midtjylland
Spurs - Real Sociedad, Galatasaray, AZ Alkmaar, FC Midtjylland
Rangers - Bodo/Glimt, Anderlecht, FC Twente, Fenerbahce
The draw for the knockout phase play-offs will take place on Friday 31 January, with the games occurring over a two-week period next month.
First legs: 13 February 2025
Second legs: 20 February 2025
Following that, the round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final draws will take place on February 21.
Topics: Europa League, Tottenham Hotspur, Rangers, Man Utd
Josh Lawless