Europa League Playoff Draw: Barcelona to meet Man United, Juventus draw Nantes

The 2022/2023 Europa League knockout stages will welcome unfamiliar faces this season following the ouster of European heavyweights from the group stages of the Champions League.

Barcelona, Juventus, Ajax and Sevilla were four of eight teams who finished third in the Champions League, and dropped to Europe's second-tier club competition to meet the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and AS Roma.

Monday's draw which took place in Nyon, Switzerland, decided what the playoff round will look like, ahead of the round of 16 scheduled to take place next year against group winners from the Europa League.

The playoff round will see the eight teams that dropped from the Champions, square off for a place in the round of 16 against the Europa League group runner-ups.

What are the playoff pairings?

Barcelona vs Manchester United

Juventus vs FC Nantes

Sporting Lisbon vs FC Midtjylland

Shakhtar Donetsk vs Stade Rennais

Ajax vs Union Berlin

Bayer Leverkusen vs AS Monaco

Sevilla vs PSV Eindohoven

RB Salzburg vs AS Roma

What is the date for the playoff games?

The first legs of this stage of the competition will be played on 16 February, and the second legs will be played on 23 February 2023.

The 68000-seater Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary will host the 2022/23 final of the Europa League curated content

When will the draw for the round of 16 be held?

The draw for the round of 16 will be held on 24 February 2023 with the first legs, slated to be played on 9 March and the second legs, on 16 March 2023.

The draw for the quarter-final and semi-final fixtures will then be held on 17 March 2023.

Which teams are waiting in the Round of 16?

Arsenal
Fenerbahce
Real Betis
Royal Union Saint-Gilloise
Real Sociedad
Feyenoord
Freiburg
Ferencvaros

All eight teams won their groups.

How do the knock stages work?

Following the removal of the away goals rule, all ties that are still level after 180 minutes will go to extra time irrespective of the number of goals each team has scored at home and away.

If both teams still find it difficult in finding a winner after 30 minutes of extra play, the match will be decided by a penalty shootout.