The Europa League group stages are over – and we’ve got an idea of who will play who in the knockouts. What does the path look like for Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Rangers?
Rangers avoided a late scare against Union SG and booked their place in the round of 16 against the odds by finishing eighth. They will will face one of Anderlecht, Bodø/Glimt, Fenerbahçe, or Twente.
Manchester United finished third in the Europa League group phase after Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo’s introductions inspired a 2-0 win at Steaua Bucharest.
United will advance directly to the last 16 and will face one of Real Sociedad, Galatasaray, AZ Alkmaar or Midtjylland on March 6 and 13.
Tottenham will play one of Midtjylland, AZ Alkmaar, Real Sociedad or Olympiakos in the last 16 after they beat Elfsborg 3-0.
Due to the structure of the draw, Spurs and Manchester United cannot meet until the final.
When is the Europa League draw?
The draw for the Europa League play-offs will be held on Friday January 31 at approximately 12am UK and Irish time.
You can follow it on Sky Sports digital and the Sky Sports App from 10.30am.
Draw format
Teams finishing between ninth and 16th in the league will be seeded for the play-off round.
They will face an unseeded team that finished between 17th and 24th in the table – with the seeded team also having the benefit of playing the second leg at home.
Sides will also be paired together in the draw, meaning that the two sides who finished ninth and 10th will be drawn against either the 23rd or 24th placed sides.
Teams who finished 11th and 12th will be drawn against either the 21st or 22nd-placed sides, and so on.
The eight winners from the play-offs will meet the teams who finished in the top eight from the initial league phase in the last 16, where the familiar theme of knockout rounds will run all the way to the final.
When are the knockout stages?
- The Europa League play-offs will take place over two legs on the weekdays of February 13, as well as February 20.
- Last-16 games will be played on March 6, with the second legs occurring on March 13.
- The quarter-finals are on April 10, with the return legs on April 17.
- The semi-finals will take place on May 1, with second legs on May 8.
- The 2024/25 Europa League final will be played at the Estadio de San Mames in Bilbao, Spain, on May 21 2025.
Who will British teams play in the next round – and who could they face in the last 16?
Manchester United (Ranked No 3)
Round of 16: vs Midtjylland, AZ Alkmaar, Real Sociedad or Olympiakos.
Tottenham (Ranked No 4)
Round of 16: vs Midtjylland, AZ Alkmaar, Real Sociedad or Olympiakos.
Rangers (Ranked No 8)
Round of 16: vs Anderlecht, Bodø/Glimt, Fenerbahce or Twente.
Who are all the teams through to the next round?
Confirmed in round of 16
Lazio, Bilbao, Man Utd, Tottenham, Frankfurt, Lyon, Olympiakos, Rangers.
Confirmed in knockout phase play-offs
Bodø/Glimt, Anderlecht, Steaua, Ajax, Real Sociedad, Galatasaray, Roma, Plzen, Ferencváros, Porto, Midtjylland, AZ Alkmaar, Union Saint-Gilloise, PAOK, Twente, Fenerbache.
Eliminated
Braga, IF Elfsborg, Hoffenheim, Besiktas, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Dynamo Kyiv, Nice, Qarabag, Ludogorets, Malmo, Slavia Prague, RFS.
