Europa League Draw 2015-16: Round-of-16 Fixture Schedule and Dates Released

Manchester United will face Liverpool in the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League following Friday's draw in Nyon, Switzerland.

The two English giants will go head-to-head for a place in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur have been pitted against the well-fancied Borussia Dortmund.

Gary Neville's Valencia drew fellow Spanish outfit Athletic Bilbao, and defending champions Sevilla will face Basel.

Here is the full draw:

Home Team in First Leg	vs.	Away
Shakhtar Donetsk	vs.	Anderlecht
Basel	vs.	Sevilla
Villarreal	vs.	Bayer Leverkusen
Athletic Bilbao	vs.	Valencia
Liverpool	vs.	Manchester United
Sparta Prague	vs.	Lazio
Borussia Dortmund	vs.	Tottenham Hotspur
Fenerbahce	vs.	Braga

First legs to be played on Thursday, March 10. Second legs to be played on Thursday, March 17.

European football writer Andy Brassell provided a pithy assessment of the draw, with United's clash against Liverpool just one of many fascinating ties: "What an absolute belter of a draw for Europa League last 16. Dortmund v Spurs would have been a pretty good final."

The Red Devils eventually came through their last-32 tie with Midtjylland fairly comfortably, winning 6-3 on aggregate, but the Danish minnows caused them a significant scare with a 2-1 victory in the first leg.

Louis van Gaal's side will have to be better prepared against Liverpool, especially as winning the Europa League looks like United's best chance of qualifying for next season's Champions League.

The Merseysiders will need to up their game as well for the tie against the Red Devils after they only managed to scrape past Augsburg 1-0 on aggregate in the previous round.

Per the Europa League on Twitter, the two English sides have never met before in European competition. United have an excellent recent record against their bitter rivals—they have won all of their last four meetings—and Van Gaal previously said he liked facing Liverpool, per the Manchester Evening News' Samuel Luckhurst:

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp also indicated, though, that Liverpool had got the draw they wanted, per the club's Twitter feed: "I asked my staff who they wanted [in the Europa League] and they said Manchester United."

Dortmund are one of the favourites to go all the way in this year's tournament, and they were impressive in seeing off Porto 3-0 on aggregate in their last-32 tie, per the Europa League:

Their victory over the Portuguese giants will stand them in good stead for a tough last-16 clash against Spurs, who were similarly impressive in seeing off Fiorentina 4-1 on aggregate in the first knockout round.

The Bundesliga outfit have an excellent record against English clubs, per WhoScored.com:

Sevilla are looking to make it three Europa League triumphs in as many years, and they eased past Molde 3-1 on aggregate in the last round despite a 1-0 second-leg loss.

They will be favourites for their clash against Basel, but the Swiss side have extra motivation this season, with the final set to be played at their St. Jakob-Park stadium.

Valencia put on an authoritative display in their last-32 clash, thrashing Rapid Vienna 10-0 over two legs—a record, according to Infostrada Sports:

They will be dangerous opponents for Athletic despite their position in the bottom half of the Primera Division table. The Bilbao outfit are eighth in La Liga, just four points above Los Che. 

Meanwhile, Serie A's Lazio will take on Sparta Prague in an interesting clash. Shakhtar Donetsk will take great momentum into their tie with Anderlecht after an impressive 3-0 aggregate win over Schalke.

The quality is significantly higher in the last 16, with only top European clubs remaining in the main, per the Times' Rory Smith:

It is a gruelling competition, but it is worth every effort for the side that goes all the way. The last-16 draw has thrown up some fascinating ties, and there are no guarantees as to which sides will reach the quarter-finals.