The Standard

Who can Manchester United face in Europa League draw? Group-stage pot confirmed and procedure explained

By Marc Mayo,

5 hours ago

Manchester United will discover their opponents in the Europa League group stage later this week.

The play-off matches for both the Europa League and Champions League are taking place to decide the final set of 36 teams which will be loaded into one big league table for the new-look competition.

United have never won this competition and, after a year away, will be among the favourites to go all the way.

The absence of any demoted Champions League teams further down the line will be a boost to their hopes, should they make it to the knockouts.

But first they face eight games, four at home and four away, against a mix of well-known opponents and unheard-of minnows.

Which pot are Man Utd in for the Europa League draw?

Man Utd will be in Pot 1 with top seeding for the Europa League draw , as the second-highest ranked team based on UEFA coefficient.

Who can Man Utd face in the Europa League draw?

United will be drawn against two teams from each pot, including their own Pot 1.

They cannot face English opponents (Tottenham) and can only play a maximum of two teams from one other nation.

Pot 1: Roma, Porto, Rangers, Eintracht Frankfurt, Lazio

Pot 2: Olympiacos, Lyon

Pot 1 or 2: Real Sociedad, AZ

Pot 3 or 4: Malmo, Athletic Club, Hoffenheim, Nice, Twente, Ludogorets Razgrad or Petrocub, RFS or APOEL, Anderlecht or Dinamo Minsk, Besiktas or Lugano

Pot to be decided: Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, USG, Dynamo Kyiv, Red Star Belgrade or Bodo/Glimt, Lille or Slavia Prague, Dinamo Zagreb or Qarabag, Midtjylland or Slovan Bratislava, Ajax or Jagiellonia Bialystok, LASK or FCSB, Maccabi Tel Aviv or TSC, Shamrock Rovers or PAOK, Ferencvaros or Borac Banja Luka, Molde or Elfsborg, Braga or Rapid Wien, Hearts or Viktoria Plzen