Europa: Olayinka faces Ndidi, Iheanacho as Man United, Arsenal draw tough opponents

NIGERIAN players will be on both sides when Leicester City face Slavia Prague in the round of 32 of the UEFA Europa League in 2021.

Leicester City’s Super Eagles Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho will battle their compatriot Peter Olayinka who turns out for the Czech club.

Ndidi did not feature much in the group stages of the competition due to injury while Iheanacho deputised for Jamie Vardy and Olayinka played five of Slavia Prague’s six games, scoring twice.

The draw was made on Monday and several interesting fixtures were brought out of the hat.

Premier League giants Manchester United got drawn against LaLiga leaders Real Sociedad, Arsenal will play Benfica, while AC Milan will face Red Star Belgrade.

United dropped down from the Champions League and now face an uphill task as they are winless in their last nine games in European competition against Spanish opponents, drawing three and losing six, including each of their last four.

Arsenal have been struggling in the Premier League but flying in the Europa League where they won all six of their group games.

Jose Mourinho’s Premier League leaders Tottenham Hotspur were drawn against Wolfsberger as the Portuguese coach continues his quest for his third Europa League trophy.

In other fixtures involving Nigerian players, Victor Osimhen’s Napoli will confront Ramon Azeez’s Granada, Samuel Chukwueze’s Villarreal do battle with Red Bull Salzburg, and Leon Balogun and Joe Aribo’s Rangers face Royal Antwerp.

The ties are scheduled for February 2021.

EUROPA LEAGUE ROUND OF 32 FIXTURES 
Wolfsberger vs Tottenham
Dynamo Kiev vs Club Brugge 
Real Sociedad vs Manchester United 
Benfica vs Arsenal
Red Star Belgrade vs AC Milan 
Antwerp vs Rangers 
Slavia Prague vs Leicester 
Salzburg vs Villarreal 
Braga vs Roma 
Krasnodar vs Dinamo Zagreb 
Young Boys vs Bayer Leverkusen
Molde vs Hoffenheim 
Granada vs Napoli
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Shakhtar Donetsk 
Lille vs Ajax
Olympiakos vs PSV Eindhoven