Premier League clubs Manchester United and Southampton were both handed tough, but exciting, draws in the 2016-17 group stage of the UEFA Europa League.
[ MORE: Europa League schedule ]
The draw, which took place in Monaco on Friday, saw Jose Mourinho’s United placed in Group A as they face Turkish giants Fenerbache, Dutch powerhouse Feyenoord and Ukrainian side Zorya Luhansk with some big games coming up at Old Trafford.
United’s manager was happy with the tough tests for his squad: “It’s a big match to play in Istanbul as it is in Rotterdam – it’s good for us,” Mourinho said.
Saints, who have reached the group stage of the Europa League for the first-time in club history, face mouth-watering clashes against Inter Milan, while they also have tough games against Czech giants Sparta Prague and the champions of Israel Hapoel Beer-Sheva.
48 teams who had qualified for the Europa League group stage were split up into 12 groups of four teams with some other big ties cropping up as Group G looks particularly strong as it contains Ajax, Standard Liege, Celta Vigo and Panathinaikos.
The Europa League final will take place in Stockholm, Sweden at the Friends Arena on May 24, 2017.
Below is the draw in full, with the opening group games taking place on Thursday Sept. 15. There are six group games in total for each team and you can see the full schedule by clicking on the link above.
GROUP A
Manchester United
Fenerbache
Feyenoord
Zorya Luhansk
GROUP B
Olympiakos
APOEL FC
Young Boys
FC Astana
GROUP C
Anderlecht
St Etienne
FSV Mainz 05
Gabala
GROUP D
Zenit St Petersburg
AZ Alkmaar
Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Dundalk
GROUP E
Viktoria Plzen
AS Roma
Austria Wien
Astra Giurgiu
GROUP F
Athletic Bilbao
Genk
Rapid Wien
Sassuolo
GROUP G
Ajax
Standard Liege
Celta Vigo
Panathinaikos
GROUP H
Shakhtar Donetsk
SC Braga
Gent
Konyaspor
GROUP I
FC Schalke 04
FC Salzburg
Krasnodar
Nice
GROUP J
Fiorentina
PAOK FC
Slovan Liberec
Qarabag
GROUP K
Inter Milan
Sparta Prague
Southampton
Hapoel Beer-Sheva
GROUP L
Villarreal
Steaua Bucharest
FC Zurich
Osmanlispor