Man United have identified their opponents in the outer round including Fenerbahce (Turkey), Rangers (Scotland), FC Porto (Portugal), PAOK (Greece), Bodo/Glimt (Norway), Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic), FC Twente (Netherlands) and FCSB (Romania). Of these, there are 4 matches where Erik ten Hag's team will play at home against Rangers, PAOK, FC Twente and Bodo/Glimt.
Under the new format of the European Cup, the top eight teams out of 36 clubs after the final round will qualify for the round of 16. Teams ranked 9th to 24th will play two play-offs to determine who will advance. When there are only 16 teams left, the knockout format will be the same as in previous years.
Among MU's opponents in the early stages of the 2024-2025 Europa League, Fenerbahce is considered the most difficult team to play against. Last season, the "Red Devils" also failed to qualify for the European Cup in the Champions League when they were defeated by another Turkish representative, Galatasaray.
It was thought that with Jose Mourinho, Fenerbahce could reach the Champions League. However, the final result in the play-off round pushed everyone down to the Europa League. In a secondary playground and having won the championship with MU in 2017, Spiecal One is still highly appreciated. In the context of being inferior in both domestic and continental tournaments, with a cup-winning person like Mourinho, Fenerbahce has high expectations.
As for Man United , before the FA Cup final, not many people thought they could play in the European Cup this season when they only finished the Premier League in 8th place (the lowest in history). However, the victory at Wembley against arch-rival Man City helped Bruno Fernandes and his teammates complete the assigned task.
In recent times, Ten Hag has not been able to improve the effectiveness of MU's defense. Looking back a few years ago, Mourinho was one of the world's top strategists in this area. Ten Hag can keep dreaming of an effective double-decker bus in front of the goal like his colleague. On the other hand, the "Special One" also did not think about saying goodbye to the Old Trafford team in the impatient way of the leadership.
Ten Hag saw United drop out of the title race and finish near mid-table last season. Yet the Dutchman has not been sacked, while Jose Mourinho has been sacked too quickly in the past. That is the usual jealousy of the Portuguese tactician.
If Man United had been more patient with Mourinho and had gotten rid of some rebels like Paul Pogba earlier, it might not have been Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's turn now and now Erik ten Hag.
Therefore, it is not impossible that Mourinho will send his troops to play with all their might against MU to destroy their opponents at home.
