NYON, Feb 21 (Reuters) -

Manchester United ( MANU ) were handed a tricky Europa League last 16

tie against Real Sociedad while Tottenham Hotspur will play

Dutch side AZ Alkmaar after the draw was held on Friday.

The two English sides have struggled in the Premier

League this season, with Spurs 12th and United 15th, and winning

the second-tier Europa League may be the only way they can

return to the Champions League next season.

United and Spurs finished in the top four of the Europa

League group stage to avoid the playoffs and will play their

respective second legs at home.

United and Real Sociedad have met before in the Europa

League, with the English side knocking them out in the last 32

in 2021 while they won a game each in the group stage in 2022.

Athletic Bilbao's San Mames Stadium will host the final

in May and the Spanish side will play Serie A side AS Roma.

Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce, who squeezed through to the

playoffs in last place, knocked out Anderlecht with a 5-2

aggregate win after the second leg was briefly paused due to

crowd trouble, and they will face Scottish side Rangers.

Should Fenerbahce reach the final, Mourinho could

potentially face three of his former teams -- Roma, United and

Spurs.

German side Eintracht Frankfurt, who won the title in

2022, will face Eredivisie leaders Ajax Amsterdam while Greece's

Olympiacos, who have the competition's top scorer in Ayoub El

Kaabi (seven goals this season), take on Bodo/Glimt.

The Norwegian side are on a fairytale run in the Europa

League where they overcame a 2-1 deficit against Twente in the

playoff and won 5-2 in extra time on Thursday (6-4 on aggregate)

to advance.

EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 16

Viktoria Plzen v Lazio

Bodo/Glimt v Olympiacos

Ajax Amsterdam v Eintracht Frankfurt

AZ Alkmaar v Tottenham Hotspur

AS Roma v Athletic Bilbao

Fenerbahce v Rangers

Steaua Bucharest v Olympique Lyonnais

Real Sociedad v Manchester United ( MANU )

* Team mentioned second play return leg at home

EUROPA LEAGUE QUARTER-FINALS

QF1: Bodo/Olympiacos v Plzen/Lazio

QF2: AZ/Spurs v Ajax/Frankfurt

QF3: Fenerbahce/Rangers v Roma/Bilbao

QF4: Bucharest/Lyon v Sociedad/United

* Team mentioned second play return leg at home

EUROPA LEAGUE SEMI-FINALS

Semi-final 1: QF2 winners v QF1 winners

Semi-final 2: QF3 winners v QF4 winners

* Team mentioned second play return leg at home

FIRST AND SECOND LEG DATES

Last 16: March 6 and March 13

Quarter-finals: April 10 and April 17

Semi-finals: May 1 and May 8

Final: May 21