FC Barcelona will play in the main tournament for the first time in the history of the Europa League. Xavi knows the potential opponents for the draw of the intermediate round of the Europa League. The numbers three from the billion-dollar ball are linked to the numbers two in the Europa League.
For Giovanni van Bronckhorst with Rangers FC, that could be a nice get-together, if he were to draw lots against his old employer. It is in advance in the list of Napoli, Dinamo Zagreb, SS Lazio, Olympiakos or Sporting Braga one of the least strong that can come out of the tubes for FC Barcelona. Real Betis and Real Sociedad cannot be drawn in the intermediate round, because those teams also come from Spain.
Xavi first plays at home with FC Barcelona on 17 February and a week later the return of the diptych is finished on foreign soil. Only the winner of the double encounter goes to the eighth finals of the Europa League. Dutch clubs will no longer participate in the Europa League after the elimination. Of course, the Catalans played in the second tournament in Europe before, but not since it bears the name of the Europa League.
Placed teams from the Champions League : RB Leipzig, FC Porto, Borussia Dortmund, FC Barcelona, FC Sheriff Tiraspol, Atalanta Bergamo, Sevilla FC, Zenit Saint Petersburg.
Placed teams from the Europa League : Rangers FC, Real Sociedad, Napoli, SS Lazio, Olympiakos, Sporting Braga, Dinamo Zagreb and Real Betis Sevilla.
