Europa League draw hands Man Utd nightmare tie as Arsenal made to wait

Manchester United have been handed a nightmare tie against Barcelona in the Europa League play-off draw with Arsenal being made to wait to find out their fate.

The Red Devils finished second in their Europa League group despite having won five out of their six matches. They twice overcame Sheriff Tiraspol and Omonia Nicosia and rounded off their group stage with a slender 1-0 victory against Real Sociedad in Spain. However, due to the La Liga side's superior goal difference, it was them who secured an automatic place in the last-16.

They will now join United's Premier League rivals Arsenal in the draw for the last-16 which will take place next year after Mikel Arteta 's men won their group that included PSV Eindhoven, Bodo/Glimt and FC Zurich. United in the meantime are forced to navigate a clash against Champions League outcasts Barcelona.

The draw for the play-off round took place in Nyon on Monday afternoon with the Red Devils joined by their fellow group runners-up, as well as those clubs that have indeed dropped down from the Champions League.

There was a number of testing ties that could have been produced with the likes of Ajax, Bayer Leverkusen, Barcelona, Sporting Clube de Portugal, Red Bull Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sevilla and Juventus all being demoted.

In the end, Erik ten Hag's men were matched up with the Catalan giants as they attempt to progress to the next stage of the competition.

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The play-off first legs are scheduled to take place on 16 February, with the second legs taking place just a week later on 23 February.

Should United progress then there will not be much preparation time for the Red Devils with the following last-16 ties taking place on March 9 and 16.

The Dutchman has already suggested that the extra couple of games after the World Cup could potentially give his players an advantage. Speaking shortly after the win over Sociedad, the former Ajax schemer said: "We definitely have two extra games to cover in this hard season.

"We have a lot of games, that's clear, but also it's an opportunity for this squad to develop and to get into the process.

"Players like to play matches, rather than training, so, in that matter, it is also an advantage."

Europa League play-off draw in full:

FC Barcelona vs Manchester United

Juventus vs Nantes

Sporting Lisbon vs FC Midtjylland

Shakhtar Donetsk vs Stade Rennais

Ajax vs Union Berlin

Bayer Leverkusen vs AS Monaco

Sevilla vs PSV Eindhoven

Red Bull Salzburg vs AS Roma

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