Izuchukwu OkosiThe draw for the playoffs stages of the UEFA Europa League was held on Thursday with the standout fixtures being the huge two-legged games between Barcelona and Manchester United.
Barcelona finished third in a Champions League group that contained Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelJuventus are another top side that dropped down to the second tier European football tournament to the shock of many football faithful who are now guaranteed of some magnificent experience in the competition that has always been derided.
Arsenal’s incredible form in the competition – which saw the Gunners top Group A – means Mikel Arteta’s side progress straight into the round of 16 and avoid a potentially tricky tie.
The Gunners lost only one game, against PSV away in six games to top their pool ahead of FC Zürich and Bodo/Glimt.
READ ALSO: UEFA Europa League Roundup: Arsenal Pips Bodo/Glimt, Uzoho Superb Despite Defeat To Man United
The play-offs is a bonus round that was introduced last season and sees the eight runners-up from the Europa League group stage and the eight third-placed teams in the Champions League face off.
La Liga frontrunners Barcelona, Serie A giants Juventus and serial tournament winners Sevilla are among the Champions League sides dropping into the competition. Manchester United, PSV, Roma and Monaco are among the Europe League teams waiting to discover their fate.
While Arsenal are not involved in the play-off draw, fans will be eager to find out who the likes of Man United, Barcelona and Juventus get as they are who the Gunners will face in the next stage of the competition.
Here are all of the fixtures from the Europa League knockout round play-off draw:
Barcelona vs Manchester United
Juventus vs Nantes
Sporting Lisbon vs Midtjylland
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes
Ajax vs Union Berlin
Bayer Leverkusen vs Monaco
Sevilla vs PSV
FC Salzburg vs Roma
The first leg ties of thesecmatches will hold on Thursday, 16 February 2023.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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