The UEFA Europa League knockout round play-off draw took place on 7th Of November at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland. The eight runners-up from the UEFA Europa League group stage were seeded while the eight third-placed teams from the UEFA Champions League group stage were unseeded. Clubs from the same association could not be drawn against each other.
The Catalans Giant Head Coach and club legend reacted to the draw, he said:
“We will have to compete, going to Manchester against a top rival and a historic side which has grown a lot with the arrival of Erik ten Hag.
Xavi
They have great individual players and it is the toughest rival once again in the Europa League.
We will have time to analyse it, they are a strong team in both defence and attack, not just for Cristiano Ronaldo, but for other players [too]. Manchester United are a historic club and they also need to win. Two big teams and it’s going to be a massive task.”
The most interesting part of the draw is seeing the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to the Spotify Camp Nou. It is also a chance for Cristiano Ronaldo to face his former El Clásico rival. The ex-Real Madrid player scored 20 goals in 34 career appearances against Barcelona.
Both clubs are creating a quality teams and we look forward to a great match between both teams.
The knockout round play-offs will take place on 16th and 23rd of February. All un-defeated teams will all advance to the round of 16 and the defeated ones will all be eliminated from the competition. Below is the list of team and ties.
Juventus vs Nantes
Sporting Lisbon vs FC Midtjylland
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes
Ajax vs Union Berlin
Bayer Leverkusen vs Monaco
Sevilla vs PSV Eindhoven
RB Salzburg vs Roma
Knockout play-offs: 16 & 23 February 2023
Round of 16: 9 & 16 March 2023
Quarter-finals: 13 & 20 April 2023
Semi-finals: 11 & 18 May 2023
Final: 31 May 2023
What is your prediction for the play-offs? We will be reading from the comment section