Galatasaray, the Turkish juggernauts, are set to face off towards Czech facet Sparta Prague within the Europa League playoff spherical, aiming to safe a coveted spot within the final 16, as revealed in Monday’s draw.
Having encountered a difficult UEFA Champions League group that includes heavyweights Bayern Munich, Copenhagen and Manchester United, Galatasaray discovered themselves redirected to the Europa League.
Now, the Lions are poised to embark on a journey the place their resilience and dedication shall be examined, as they need to make investments their efforts to earn passage to the knockout levels.
The draw, carried out on the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, revealed the matchups that includes Freiburg, Marseille, Qarabakh, Rennes, Roma, Sparta Prague, Sporting CP and Toulouse as group stage leaders.
Additionally, Benfica, Braga, Feyenoord, Galatasaray, Lens, Milan, Shakhtar Donetsk and Young Boys, who completed third of their UEFA Champions League teams, have been additionally chosen to take part.
In this draw, the Europa League group winners earned the standing of seeded groups.
The different playoff spherical fixtures are as follows:
- Feyenoord vs. Roma
- Milan vs. Rennes
- Lens vs. Freiburg
- Young Boys vs. Sporting CP
- Benfica vs. Toulouse
- Braga vs. Qarabakh
- Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Marseille
The preliminary matches are scheduled for Feb. 15, 2024, with the return fixtures happening on Feb. 22, 2024.
The grand finale of the UEFA Europa League 2023/24 season is about to grace the Dublin Arena within the Republic of Ireland on May 22, 2024.
Galatasaray’s quest for the cup, although thought of difficult, now seems extra promising with the absence of UEFA Europa League’s infamous “troublemaker,” Sevilla, who shall be competing this yr after ending on the backside of their Champions League group.
Meanwhile, Liverpool and West Ham United, veterans of this yr’s UEFA Europa League, emerged as high contenders for the coveted trophy.
Source: www.dailysabah.com