Man Utd meet Real Betis in the round of 1/8 Europa League
*Continue to update
After eliminating Barca, Man Utd continued to play a Spanish club in the Europa League, which is Real Betis. The two teams have never met in UEFA competitions, but played a friendly match in December 2022, with a 1-0 victory for Betis. They are fifth in La Liga, and have won Roma in the group stage this season.
Arsenal will also face a difficult opponent, Sporting, although the Portuguese club's performance is not high. The two teams have met four times, Arsenal won two, drew two, scored four goals and have yet to concede. In the Portuguese league, Sporting is only fourth, 17 points less than the top of Benfica's table.
Two Italian representatives including Juventus and Roma played Freiburg and Real Sociedad, respectively. Both of these matches have never happened at UEFA, but these teams are in the Top 4 in Europe's top leagues, if not counting Juventus has been deducted 15 points.
In a poll on the UEFA homepage before the draw, 39% of readers believed that Man Utd would win. This ratio goes to Arsenal at 19%, then to Juventus 14% and Rome 6%. Only 1% of readers believe that Sevilla - the most successful team in the tournament - will win.
Former midfielder Zoltan Gera will assist in the draw, as he represents Hungary - where this season's final will take place. Gera was runner-up in the 2010 Europa League with Fulham.
Round of 16 consists of 16 teams divided into two groups, and teams from the same group will not meet. Group one includes the top eight teams: Union Saint-Gilloise, Arsenal, Freiburg, Ferencvaros, Feyenoord, Real Betis, Real Sociedad and Fenerbahce. The teams that have just passed the first knockout round on the evening of February 23 belong to the second group, including Man Utd, Sporting, Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus, Roma, Union Berlin, Sevilla and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Teams from the same federation will not meet in this round, so Man Utd will not be able to meet Arsenal. Teams in the same group can still meet, so Man Utd and Real Sociedad still have the possibility of a rematch.
The first group teams are considered seeds, kicking the second leg at home. The UEFA representative will draw the teams in group two in turn, with their respective opponents in group one. They will only split the 1/8 round, while the quarterfinals will have a separate draw.
The first leg of the 1/8 round took place on the evening of March 9, and the second leg kicked off a week later. The quarter-final branching ceremony was held on March 17.
