Manchester United had a disappointing Premier League season last year, finishing in eighth place. However, they managed to secure qualification for this season’s Europa League. The Red Devils ended the season on a high note by winning the FA Cup and earning their spot in Europe.
Despite their underwhelming performance in the league, Manchester United’s manager, Erik ten Hag, has received support from Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe is hoping for a much-improved campaign in Ten Hag’s first full season in charge at Old Trafford. The Dutchman has already strengthened his squad with the signings of Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt, and Noussair Mazraoui. Additionally, there are reports that PSG midfielder Manuel Ugarte is on the verge of joining the club for a massive fee of £51 million. Ten Hag will be aiming to lead Manchester United to their first European trophy since their Europa League triumph in 2016/17.
The Europa League format for the 2024/25 season has changed. Instead of having eight groups of four teams, there will be a single league table of all 36 qualified clubs. Each team will play eight matches, facing two opponents from each of the four pots. One match will be played at home, and the other will be away. It is important to note that clubs from the same country will not face each other, and no team can face more than two opponents from the same country.
During the draw, a club will be manually drawn from a bowl, and Uefa’s automated software will reveal their eight fixtures. After the conclusion of the league phase matches, the top eight teams will directly qualify for the last-16. Teams that finish 9th to 24th will compete in an additional play-off round, while those that finish 25th to 36th will be eliminated from European competitions for this season. From the last-16 onwards, regular knockout rules will apply. This format is also being used for the Champions League and the Europa Conference League.
In the Europa League draw, Manchester United is in Pot 1 due to their Uefa coefficient ranking. They will play two teams from each of the four pots, with one match at home and one away. At this stage, they cannot face opponents from their own country, meaning they cannot meet Tottenham just yet. They can also play a maximum of two teams from any other country. The clubs they could potentially draw from each pot are AS Roma, Porto, Ajax, Rangers, Eintracht Frankfurt, Lazio, and Slavia Prague from Pot 1; Real Sociedad, AZ Alkmaar, Braga, Olympiakos, Lyon, PAOK, Fenerbahce, Maccabi Tel Aviv, and Ferencvaros from Pot 2; Qarabag, Galatasaray, Viktoria Plzen, Bodo/Glimt, Union SG, Dynamo Kyiv, Ludogorets, Midtjylland, and Malmo from Pot 3; and Athletic Club, Hoffenheim, Nice, Anderlecht, Twente, Besiktas, FK RFS, Steaua Bucharest, and Elfsborg from Pot 4.
The Europa League draw for the 2024/25 season will be broadcast live on TNT Sports in the UK. Subscribers of TNT can also stream the draw through discovery+. Additionally, fans can follow SunSport’s live blog to find out which teams will be drawn together.
For those looking to watch the draw for free, UEFA.com will broadcast it for free. The draw will also be available on TNT Sport’s official YouTube channel, which will be airing the draw live from Monaco.