Manchester United to face Liverpool in Europa League last 16

Manchester United and Liverpool will face each other for the first time in the European competition.(Source: Reuters)

Manchester United and Liverpool will face each other for the first time in European competition after being drawn together in the Europa League last 16 on Friday.

The fixture means two tough games for teams which are struggling in the English Premier League, where United is fifth and Liverpool eighth.

“I asked my staff who they wanted and they said Manchester United,” Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp said on the UEFA website.

The first game will be at Anfield on March 10, with the return fixture seven days later at United’s Old Trafford.

The draw on Friday also means an all-Spanish matchup between Valencia and Athletic Bilbao, while reigning Europa League champion Sevilla meets Swiss team Basel, whose stadium, St. Jakob-Park, is also the venue for the final in May.

Sevilla is aiming to win the competition for a record third year in a row.

Another high-profile fixture pits Premier League title challenger Tottenham against Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund.

The other fixtures are Shakhtar Donetsk against Anderlecht, Villarreal against Bayer Leverkusen, Sparta Prague against Lazio, and Fenerbahce against Braga.