The new Europa League season is upon us and Manchester United are back in it. After an unsuccessful campaign in the Champions League last autumn, Erik Ten Hag’s side will compete in the Europa League, which they managed to sneak in in their final game of last season, winning the FA Cup against Man City. But now the new season brings a new format to all UEFA competitions, meaning United have learned the names of eight different clubs they will face.
In a computer-based draw process, United were in Pot 1. In each of the four pots were nine teams and from each of the four pots, United got to draw two teams, even the one they are in. Against each of the eight sides, they will play only once. Here are the results of the draw.
Pot 1 – Rangers and Porto
It will be known on Saturday the exact schedule against which sides will United play when, but right now we do know which teams will come to Old Trafford and to which cities will United travel. Rangers will be coming to Manchester from Pot 1, while United will have an interesting trip to Porto to face the former European Champions. These were among the toughest possible opponents, as Pot 1 also included the likes of Roma, Lazio and Ajax.
Pot 2 – PAOK and Fenerbahce
The Greek side PAOK will be coming to Manchester, but the trip to Turkey will be particularly interesting. United will be facing Fenerbahce, which is expected to be a clash against Jose Mourinho, who took over the Turkish giants this summer. Also, the Devils have historically often struggled against Turkish sides in recent times, with Galatasaray and Istanbul Basaksehir debacles still being fresh in the memories of Man United fans. The teams United could have faced from Pot 2 were also Real Sociedad, Lyon, AZ Alkmaar and Braga.
Pot 3 – Bodo/Glimt and Viktoria Plzen
From Pot 3, United got to play with Bodo/Gilmt at home and Viktoria Plzen in Czech Republic. This is good, because the Bodo/Glimt match could be played in winter and it is never easy going away to play inside the Arctic circle. Apart from Bodo/Glimt and Viktoria, the other teams that could have been United’s opponents include Dynamo Kiev, Galatasaray and Midtjylland.
Pot 4 – Twente and FCSB
And finally, from Pot 4, United will face Twente at home and FCSB in Romania. These opponents were not the toughest ones in this pot, as there were the likes of Athletic Bilbao, Hoffenheim, Nice and Anderlecht lurking as well. But there are a couple more interesting things to be said about the new format of the Europa League.
Man United will play six of these eight matches in the usual September-to-December period, but the remaining two will be played in the middle of January. This is something completely new and the new schedule will make it even harder for top European sides, considering how many matches they will have to play in a short period of time. What is also interesting is the way teams qualify for the knockout stages.
All teams are put in a single league-type table and top eight teams will go straight to the Round of 16. This is where United will want to end up, so they don’t have to play an extra round before that. For that extra play-off round will qualify teams ranked from 9th until 24th place. These 16 teams will then have a two-legged encounter to decide who will join the top eight sides in the Round of 16. Let’s see how United will fare in this new version of Europa League.
Leave a Reply