The round of 16 in this season’s Europa League carries plenty of intrigue.
The draw for the next stage of the competition was held Friday in Nyon, Switzerland, and offered up several interesting fixtures that look, at least on paper, to be finely poised.
The marquee matchups arguably involve the two remaining Italian clubs. Roma will meet perennial Europa League contenders Sevilla, while Scudetto hopefuls Inter Milan face La Liga upstarts Getafe, who are fresh off eliminating Ajax – last season’s Champions League semifinalists – in the previous round.
Elsewhere, it was all smiles for Manchester United, who were drawn alongside LASK; the Austrian side is the lowest-ranked team remaining in the tournament. The Premier League’s other representative, Wolverhampton Wanderers, have a date with Olympiacos, who sent Arsenal packing in stunning fashion on Thursday to reach the round of 16.
Here’s the draw in full:
- Istanbul Basaksehir vs. FC Copenhagen
- Olympiacos vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Rangers vs. Bayer Leverkusen
- Wolfsburg vs. Shakhtar Donetsk
- Inter Milan vs. Getafe
- Sevilla vs. AS Roma
- Eintracht Frankfurt or Red Bull Salzburg vs. FC Basel
- LASK vs. Manchester United
The first legs of the respective fixtures will all take …read more