Eight potential opponents in the Europa League

Eight potential opponents in the Europa League

Manchester United, Midtjylland, Nantes, Monaco, PSV, Union Berlin, Stade Rennes or Roma are potential opponents in the draw on Monday 7 November

Manchester United, Midtjylland, Nantes, Monaco, PSV, Union Berlin, Stade Rennes or Roma. One of these eight sides will be Barça's opponent in the Europa League knockout round play-off.

The draw at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, on Monday 7 November at 1pm CET will determine who Xavi Hernández and the squad will face in the first leg on 16 February at the Spotify Camp Nou. The return leg will be away on 23 February.

This is the second consecutive year that the Catalans are participating in the preliminary round of Europe's second tier competition. However, this phase only involves the teams that finished third in the Champions League, such as Barça, along with those that finished second in the Europa League group stage, who will be ranked first in next Monday's draw. The winners of each group await in the round of 16.

First leg at home

One of the determining factors for the teams coming from the Champions League is that they will play the first leg at home. Therefore, FC Barcelona already know that as well as going through to the round of 16 if they win, they will play the first leg of the play-off at the Spotify Camp Nou. Furthermore, they will not face any opponents from the same league in the next two rounds (Real Betis, Real Sociedad and Sevilla).

Champions League teams only from the quarterfinals onwards

As well as the LaLiga teams, the Catalans will also avoid the other teams from the Champions League in the round of 16. As such, should Barça get through this play-off in February, they will face one of those finishing first in the Europa League group stage. They will not face Ajax, Shakhtar Donetsk, Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting CP, Salzburg or Juventus, who also finished third in the Champions League.

The road to the Puskás Aréna

On getting through the play-off round, Xavi and the squad will go into another Europa League draw on 24 February, which will decide the last 16 fixtures. Should Barça progress, they will again be entered into another final draw on 17 March that will decide the quarter and semifinals. All roads lead to the final on 31 May in Budapest at the Puskás Aréna, with Xavi's Barça looking to win the only title that is missing from the display in the Museum. 

Força Barça
Força Barça

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