Man United face Betis; Arsenal tackle Sporting in Europa League round of 16
Manchester United has been drawn to face La Liga side Real Betis in a two-legged UEFA Europa League round of 16 fixture scheduled for March while Arsenal will lock horns with Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon.
The draws were made at an event held in Switzerland on Friday afternoon involving the teams that participated in the playoffs and the ones that weren’t involved in the extra round thanks to them finishing top in the group stage phase.
United scaled through to the last 16 of the second tier European Interclub competition on a 4-3 aggregate in the playoffs round, following a 2-1 stunning victory over Barcelona on Wednesday thanks to goals by Brazilian duo of Fred and Antony, after the first leg ending 2-2 at Camp Nou.
The Red Devils now need to overcome another Spanish opponent after being drawn against Betis, who are currently fifth in the La Liga standings and would also provide Erik ten Hag a chance to avenge United’s 1-0 loss to Manuel Pellegrini’s team in a friendly during the World Cup break.
Meanwhile, Arsenal, who weren’t involved in the playoffs will battle against Sporting Lisbon for a place in the quarterfinals of this year’s competition in what is expected to be a huge test for Mikel Arteta’s side in their quest for their first European title.
For other draws, record holders with six titles, Sevilla will face Turkish club Fenerbahce in the round of 16, Juventus drawn against Bundesliga side Freiburg while Roma face Real Sociedad.
The first leg will be played on Thursday 9 March, with the return legs taking place just a week later.
FULL DRAWS
Sevilla v Fenerbahce
Juventus v Freiburg
Bayer Leverkusen v Ferencvaros
Sporting v Arsenal
Man United v Real Betis
Roma v Real Sociedad
Shakhtar Donetsk v Feyenoord
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