The draw for the Europa League first knockout took place on Monday afternoon, with Manchester United and Tottenham the remaining Premier League participants.
José Mourinho’s side book their place in the draw despite group stage campaign that wobbled in parts, ultimately doing the necessary against Zorya Luhansk on Thursday to progress.
Their reward for progression is a tie against French side Saint-Étienne, currently residing in midtable in Ligue 1 and winners of a group that also contained Anderlecht, Mainz and Gabala
Tottenham, meanwhile, find themselves in familiar surroundings once again as their first foray in the Champions League since 2011 proved to be something of a nightmare, collecting eight points from six games and finishing third behind Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side will play Belgian side Gent, who finished in second behind Shakhtar Donestk in their group.
With Southampton and League of Ireland champions Dundalk falling at the previous hurdle, British and Irish attention now shifts almost solely to Man United and Spurs for the remainder of the competition, as both look to go one better than Liverpool lest season and lift the trophy in Solna in May.
The tie of the round will see Villarreal square off against Serie A giants AS Roma, with Borussia Monchengladbach v Fiorentina another potential highlight.
Europa League Last 32 Group Stage Draw In Full:
Athletic Bilbao v APOEL
Legia Warsaw v Ajax
Anderlecht v Zenit
Astra Giurgiu v Genk
Manchester United v Saint-Étienne
Villarreal v Roma
Ludogorets v FC Copenhagen
Celta Vigo v Shakhtar Donetsk
Olympiacos vs Osmanlispor
KAA Gent v Tottenham
FC Rostov v Sparta Prague
Krasnodar v Fenerbahce
Borussia Monchengladbach v Fiorentina
AZ Alkmaar v Olympique Lyonnais
Hapoel Be’er Sheva v Besiktas
PAOK v Schalke
The first legs will be played on Thursday 16th of February, with the return legs taking place the following week.
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