Europa League last-16 draw: Man Utd and Tottenham learn next opponents (2025)

Callum McAvoy

That concludes our live coverage of the Europa League last-16 draw.

There’s one more UEFA draw today as Chelsea learn their next opponents in the Conference League.

Blues boss Enzo Maresca has been speaking to the media today and you can find out what he said right here:

Callum McAvoy

Callum McAvoy

We knew because of the final league phase table that Tottenham and Man Utd would be drawn on opposite sides of the bracket.

That means we could get an all Premier League final in Bilbao though Spurs’ pathway is tricky.

The quarter-finals could actually be their toughest fixture as they’ll take on either Ajax or Frankfurt, while Italian side Lazio are the likely semi-final opponents.

But first they must see off AZ whom they beat 1-0 in the league phase courtesy of a Richarlison penalty.

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An enticing draw for Man Utd who will take on Real Sociedad in the last-16 – a ‘David Moyes derby’ of sorts.

Navigate that and it’s FCSB or Lyon in the quarters. United beat the former 2-0 in their last league phase game.

And if they get the semis we could get another Battle of Britain against Rangers whom United beat 2-1 in the league phase thanks to an injury time goal from Bruno Fernandes.

Or perhaps they will take on Fenerbahce, managed by former United boss Jose Mourinho. The two clubs also met in the league phase where it finished 1-1 in Turkey.

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And that concludes the draw! Let’s have another look at the Europa League last-16 fixtures:

Bodo/Glimt vs Olympiacos
Fenerbahce vs Rangers
Ajax vs Eintracht Frankfurt
FCSB vs Lyon
AZ Alkmaar vs Tottenham
Real Sociedad vs Manchester United
Viktoria Plzen vs Lazio
Roma vs Athletic Club

Callum McAvoy

Callum McAvoy

Callum McAvoy

The winner of Fenerbahce vsRangerswill play the winner of Roma vs Athletic Club

The winner of FCSB vs Lyon will play the winner of Real Sociedad vsManchester United

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The winner of Bodo/Glimt vs Olympiacos will play the winners of Viktoria Plzen vs Lazio

The winner of AZ Alkmaar vsTottenhamwill play the winners of Frankfurt vs Ajax

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AZ Alkmaar vs Tottenham

Real Sociedad vs Manchester United

Viktoria Plzen vs Lazio

Roma vs Athletic Club

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Bodo/Glimt vs Olympiacos

Fenerbahce vs Rangers

Ajax vs Eintracht Frankfurt

FCSB vs Lyon

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After a lengthy (and still rather confusing) explainer video, the draw is underway.

Remember, we’ll learn the last-16, quarter-final and semi-final fixtures today…

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UEFA deputy secretary general Giorgio Marchetti is here to the conduct the draw alongside former Athletic Bilbao striker Aritz Aduriz, who twice won the Europa League golden boot.

A reminder, seeded sides – including Man Utd, Spurs and Rangers – will play the first leg of the last-16 away from home.

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The draw has begun in UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Let’s hope there’s not too much preamble…

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Not long to go until the draw now and not long to go until the last-16 fixtures themselves.

The first legs of the Europa League last-16 will take place on Thursday, March 6, with the second legs to follow on Thursday, March 13.

This season’s final will take place at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain on Wednesday, May 21.

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Following Celtic’s Champions League exit at the hands of Bayern Munich on Tuesday, Rangers are now the only Scottish club left in European competition this season.

While things haven’t been great domestically, they’ve done well on the continent and after reaching the Europa League final in 2022 – when they lost to Frankfurt on penalties – they’ll be dreaming of another incredible run.

During the league phase, Rangers lost at Man Utd and drew with Spurs and a dramatic win on the final night saw them scrape into the top eight of the table and avoid the play-offs.

Their reward is to take on either Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce or Norway champions Bodo/Glimt in the last-16.

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Just like Man Utd, Tottenham have fared far better in Europe than they have in the Premier League, with winning the Europa League their only realistic way of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

Spurs won five of their league phase games, drawing with Roma and Rangers and losing to Galatasaray – enough to see them finish fourth in the table.

And because of how the new European format works, just like Man Utd, they’ll face either Real Sociedad or AZ Alkmaar.

It should be noted, today’s draw will also determine the rest of fixtures for the Europa League, so teams will learn their potential quarter-final, semi-final and final opponents.

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Man Utd got off to a rough start in the league phase, drawing their first three matches, including against Erik ten Hag’s former club Twente.

The arrival of Ruben Amorim turned their form around however and they won their remaining five games to finish third in the table.

As a result they’ll be drawn against either Real Sociedad of Spain or AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands in the last-16

Sociedad comfortably beatFC Midtjylland 7-3 on aggregate in the play-offs while AZ stunned Turkish giants Galatasaray 6-3.

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Following the conclusion of the play-off round on Thursday night, we have our final 16 teams:

League phase (seeded)
Lazio, Athletic Club, Manchester United, Tottenham, Eintracht Frankfurt, Lyon, Olympiacos, Rangers

Knockout phase play-off winners (unseeded)
AZ Alkmaar, Roma, Bodo/Glimt, FCSB, Viktoria Plzen, Ajax, Real Sociedad, Fenerbahce

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The draw is slated to begin at 12pm and you can follow all the build-up right here.

Alternatively, the Champions League last-16 draw is about to begin so you can follow that on our live blog before heading back here for the Europa League draw.