Will Power

Monday, December 11, 2017

United Await Champions League Draw

Manchester United will face one of six potential opponents in Monday's UEFA Champions League Round-of-16 draw in Nyon.

The Reds' reward for topping Group A will be a two-legged clash against a second-placed team from one of the other groups - Bayern Munich, Juventus, Real Madrid, Porto, Sevilla or Shakhtar Donetsk. Jose Mourinho's men cannot face Chelsea, as a fellow English team, at this stage of the competition.

There is a slightly higher likelihood of United being paired with Real, Juventus or Sevilla due to the various combinations of outcomes in the draw.

Here we run the rule over the six clubs the Reds could face when the Champions League resumes in February:

Bayern Munich
Status: Group B runners-up.
Manager: Jupp Heynckes.
Group story: The German side beat PSG 3-1 in their final game but still fell short of topping the group. Rejuvenated under returning coach Heynkes, a record of five wins suggests they will be formidable foes in the knockout stages.
Star player: Robert Lewandowski.
Record v Reds: We have played the German side 11 times since 1998, winning two, losing four and drawing five.

Juventus
Status: Group D runners-up.
Manager: Massimiliano Allegri.
Group story: Juve were unbeaten at home but lost out to Barcelona for top spot. A couple of 2-0 wins over Olympiacos showed their strength and the Italian champions held Barca to a 0-0 draw in Turin.
Star player: Gonzalo Higuain.
Record v Reds: It's been close between the clubs and who can forget our famous semi-final win in 1999? Overall, there have been five wins apiece with two draws.

Porto
Status: Group G runners-up.
Manager: Sergio Conceicao.
Group story: Portugal's Dragons won three games, drew once and lost twice in the campaign. A 5-2 thumping of Monaco in their final fixture was enough to clinch second spot behind surprise group winners Besiktas.
Star player: Vincent Aboubaka.
Record v Reds: The clubs have crossed paths eight times in total, six of those coming in the Champions League with the other two in the Cup-Winners' Cup. A 4-0 rout by the Reds at Old Trafford in 1997 stands out, as does the fateful night when Jose Mourinho steered Porto to a shock aggregate win in 2004.

Real Madrid
Status: Group H runners-up.
Manager: Zinedine Zidane.
Group story: The holders lost once in the group stages but it proved decisive as Tottenham topped the table. Zidane's men still amassed 13 points to qualify comfortably, drawing the home tie with Spurs, and smashed six goals without reply past Apoel Nicosia.
Star player: Cristiano Ronaldo.
Record v Reds: United have only won twice in 10 meetings with Real and were beaten in the UEFA Super Cup final in Macedonia at the start of the season.

Sevilla
Status: Group E runners-up.
Manager: Eduardo Berizzo.
Group story: The Spanish side have been European experts in recent years and a draw with Maribor completed a nine-point haul in Liverpool's group. Sevilla showed their battling qualities to fight back from a 3-0 deficit to earn a 3-3 draw with Jurgen Klopp's side on home turf and are specialists in two-legged ties.
Star player: Wissam Ben Yedder.
Record v Reds: The clubs have never faced each other in an official competition, although Sevilla did win Rio Ferdinand's testimonial match 3-1 at Old Trafford in 2013.

Shakhtar Donetsk
Status: Group F runners-up.
Manager: Paulo Fonseca.
Group story: It was remarkable the Ukrainians progressed at the expense of much-fancied Napoli, despite losing 3-0 to the Italians. A final-game victory, inflicting Manchester City's first defeat of the season, proved vital and coach Fonseca wore a Zorro mask in the post-match press conference as part of a vow he made should his team get through.
Star player: Bernard.
Record v Reds: During David Moyes's spell in charge, United won 1-0 at Old Trafford after drawing 1-1 in Ukraine.

The other teams still in the Champions League can only face Jose Mourinho's men in a later round. This pot features the Reds' fellow group winners Paris Saint-Germain, Roma, Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester City, Besiktas and Tottenham Hotspur, plus the runners-up from United's pool, Basel.

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