(Football news) Manchester United will face off against FC Barcelona in an epic blockbuster tie between two European heavyweights in the Europa League play-offs in February. The Catalan side finished third in their Champions League group stage while the Red Devils finished behind Real Sociedad in their group, resulting in a playoff tie with the winner progressing into the knockout stage of the tournament. 

Reacting to the draw, Barcelona manager Xavi said “We will have to compete, going to Manchester against a really top rival and a historic side which has grown a lot with the arrival of (Erik) Ten Hag. [They have] great individual players and it is the toughest rival once again in the Europa League. We will have time to analyse it, they are a strong team in both defence and attack, not just for Cristiano Ronaldo, but other players [too]. Manchester United are a historic club and they also need to win. Two big teams and it's going to be a massive task." 

Manchester United and Barcelona have faced each other 13 times in the past, with the Red Devils winning only thrice, the last one coming in 2008 courtesy of a Paul Scholes long range shot in the Champions League semi-finals where the team won 1-0 on aggregate. However, the Catalan giants have won each of their last four meetings (including two Champions League finals) and the last fixture was won 4-0 on aggregate by Barcelona. Cristiano Ronaldo will once again take on his former rivals and the former Real Madrid player has scored 20 goals in 34 appearances against Barcelona but has never done so as a Manchester United player.

Interestingly, while Barcelona have traditionally been the overwhelming favourites in this fixture, one can’t help but feel that the playoff could go either way this time around. With the absence of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta, this isn’t the same Barcelona that has outclassed Manchester United in their last four meetings while Manchester United have shown steady improvement under Erik ten Hag. Moreover, with the Premier League’s top four race being more competitive than ever, winning the Europa League might be Manchester United’s only ticket for Champions League qualification. 

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