MANCHESTER UNITED and Tottenham have discovered the eight teams they will face in the new-look Europa League as the Red Devils prepare for a reunion with Jose Mourinho.
Both Man Utd and Spurs will face Rangers in the league phase, with Erik ten Hag’s men hosting the Scottish giants and Ange Postecoglou’s side travelling to Glasgow.
Follow SunSport’s live blog of the Europa League draw
Manchester United qualified for the Europa League through winning the FA CupGetty
Tottenham are preparing for their first European campaign under Ange PostecoglouAlamy
Man Utd will face former manager Jose Mourinho and ex-midfielder Fred when they head to FenerbahceGetty – Contributor
Man Utd’s fixtures: Rangers (H), Porto (A), PAOK (H), Fenerbahce (A), Bodo/Glimt (H), Viktoria Plzen (A), Twente (H), FCSB (A).
Tottenham’s fixtures: Roma (H), Rangers (A), AZ Alkmaar (H), Ferencvaros (A), Qarabag (H), Galatasaray (A), Elfsborg (H), Hoffenheim (A).
Man Utd will travel to Mourinho‘s Fenerbahce where ex-Red Devils midfielder Fred also plies his trade.
While Spurs face some tricky European away days as as they prepare to head to Galatasaray and Hoffenheim.
The competition will follow the same format as the new Champions League, with all 36 teams playing eight matches in the “league phase”.
The top eight progress straight through to the last-16, with ninth to 24th going into a play-off round.
The bottom eight teams are immediately eliminated.
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New Europa League format explained
Each of the 36 clubs will play eight matches in the opening phase – against seeded opposition, in a system designed to ensure that teams play opponents of similar difficulty.
The top eight teams in the “final” table will automatically go through to the last 16, where they will be joined by the eight play-off winners of ties between the sides placed ninth to 24th in the table.
Despite there being just eight matches in the opening phase, European matches will be spread over 10 midweek slots.
The knockout phase of the tournament remains the same as previous years.
Man Utd’s eight league phase fixtures
Tottenham’s eight league phase fixtures
Another change means no Champions League sides will drop down into the Europa League this season.
On Thursday, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa learned their Champions League fixtures.
SunSport has a full breakdown of the fixture list for each of the English clubs here.
Man Utd failed to earn European football through their Premier League position last season after they finished eighth.
But their FA Cup triumph over Man City salvaged Europa League football for Ten Hag‘s men.
Tottenham qualified for the Europa League by finishing fifth in the Premier League, two points adrift of the Champions League places.
This year’s final will take place in Bilbao on May 21.
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