Manchester United And Tottenham Hotspur Discover Europa League Opponents

Manchester United will face Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahce, now managed by Jose Mourinho, during their eight matches in the league phase of the revamped Europa League, following the draw held in Monaco on Friday.

The Old Trafford club won the Europa League with Mourinho as coach in 2017.

He recently became the coach of Fenerbahce, who were knocked out of the Champions League in the third qualifying round.

United will also have a notable home match against the 2022 Europa League runners-up, Rangers, and will travel to Portugal to face FC Porto, another of Mourinho’s former teams. In addition to these games, they will compete with PAOK, Bodo/Glimt, Twente, Viktoria Plzen, and FCSB.

Tottenham Hotspur, the other English representative in the competition, will also take on Rangers, in their case away from home.

Ange Postecoglou’s side will also play at home to Roma and go to Istanbul to face Turkish champions Galatasaray.

Spurs will host AZ Alkmaar, Elfsborg, and Qarabag at home, while they will travel to face Rangers Ferencvaros and Hoffenheim.

In other standout fixtures, Roma will host Athletic Club from Bilbao, Porto will face a trip to Lazio, while Ajax will play both Real Sociedad and Galatasaray.

About the competition

The format of the Europa League has changed for this season, along the same lines as the new-look Champions League.

The number of clubs in the competition proper is now 36, all of whom are placed into one league but split into four pots of seeds.

Each participant plays eight games, facing two clubs from each pot, one at home and one away.

The top eight at the end of the league phase, which ends in January, will progress to the last 16. Meanwhile, the teams finishing between ninth and 24th will move on to a round to determine the remaining in the last 16.

The bottom 12 in the league phase will be eliminated, with no clubs dropping down into the Conference League ahead of the knockouts, and no teams parachuting down from the Champions League as in the past.