There will be a heavyweight clash in the playoffs of the UEFA Europa League, with Manchester United drawn to face Barcelona.
The draw for the round, which pits the teams that finished second in the Europa League groups against third-placed sides from the Champions League, was held in Nyon, Switzerland today.
The winners of the eight ties will join the eight Europa League group leaders in the competition’s round of 16.
Manchester United and Barcelona are familiar foes, although they are more accustomed to meeting in the Champions League.
The English side defeated the Spaniards in the semi-finals on the way to winning the Champions League in 2008, but Barcelona took revenge by beating United in the finals in 2009 and 2011.
Indeed, Barcelona have been clearly the superior side in their recent meetings, losing only once in the last 10 clashes between the two.
United have lost the last four games between the pair, conceding nine times in that run.
In the other play-offs ties, Moses Simon’s Nantes will battle Italian giants Juventus, while Calvin Bassey and his Ajax colleagues will take on Union Berlin, Taiwo Awoniyi’s former club.
AS Roma, who won the UEFA Europa Conference League last season, will face RB Salzburg, with multiple-times Europa League winners Sevilla drawn against PSV Eindhoven.
Europa League play-offs draw
Manchester United vs Barcelona
Juventus vs Nantes
Sporting Lisbon vs Midtjylland
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes
Ajax vs Union Berlin
Bayer Leverkusen vs Monaco
Sevilla vs PSV
RB Salzburg vs Roma
