The route to this season's Europa League final is shaping up to be arguably the most competitive since the competition was rebranded.
And that's largely down to the teams that have transferred over from the Champions League - not to mention the ones that still can. Following this midweek's action in Europe's elite club competition, it has been confirmed that Barcelona and record six-time Europa League winners Sevilla have qualified for the knockout play-off round having finished third in their respective groups.
Next week's final round of fixtures will give a clearer picture as to who Arsenal must overcome in order to lift their first European trophy since 1994 as Ajax, Atletico Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, AC Milan and Juventus could all transfer over from the Champions League.
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As for the Gunners, they were among the first teams to qualify for the knockout phase but going into the PSV Eindhoven clash on Thursday evening had the chance to benefit from a major UEFA rule change where 'group winners progress automatically to the round of 16'.
However, after losing 2-0 at the Philips Stadium, Mikel Arteta's side must wait until matchday six to ensure they top Group A as victory over FC Zurich at the Emirates Stadium - or simply matching PSV's result against FK Bodo/Glimt - will be enough to avoid two extra games in the new year.
Anything less and the north London outfit could be involved in the additional knockout round play-off prior to the round of 16; these will be between the eight UEFA Europa League group runners-up and the eight third-ranked teams from the UEFA Champions League groups.'
As things stand, Real Betis, Union Saint-Gilloise, Freiburg and Ferencvaros are the only three teams to have qualified for the last-16 having won their respective groups with a game to spare, whilst Manchester United are assured of a knockout play-off at the very least - although they can't be paired against the Gunners in any scenario.
With that being said, football.london have taken a look at all the sides who have either already qualified for the Europa League knockout round play-off place or are at least assured of a place at this stage: Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven, Fenerbahce, Rennes, Real Sociedad, Manchester United, Barcelona (Q) and Sevilla (Q).
*AC Milan and Tottenham are also at least assured of a place in the Europa League knockout play-off round if they fail to secure a top-two finish in their respective Champions League groups.
When is the Europa League knockout round play-off draw?
The 2022/23 UEFA Europa League knockout round play-off draw will take place at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland on Monday November 7 at 13:00 CET. Meanwhile, the draw for the round of 16 stage is on Friday February 24 2023 at the same time.
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