How will the new-look Europa League draw work?
The traditional European draws are a thing of the past as a new format is launched in 2024/25.
Manchester United qualified for the UEFA Europa League with a brilliant Emirates FA Cup triumph against Manchester City and can look forward to competing on the continent again.
We won the trophy for the first time in 2017, beating Ajax in the final in Stockholm, and also coming agonisingly close to a second victory when losing out in a lengthy penalty shootout to Villarreal in Gdansk, four years later, during the Covid-affected period.
As with the Champions League and Conference League, things have been freshened up by UEFA in a bid to increase the excitement around the group stage.
With the road to the 2024/25 final in Bilbao already under way, as the qualifying stages are taking place across Europe, anticipation is already building ahead of the draw in Monte Carlo later this month.
However, things have changed in respect to the event, which is being staged at the Grimaldi Forum on 29 and 30 August.
The basic premise is that 36 clubs enter this new league phase, with sides playing eight matches against eight different teams (two from each of the four seeded pots), and not the usual three opponents twice in the group stage.
We cannot be drawn with a fellow Premier League side at this point and can face a maximum of two teams from the same country.
Four matches will be at Old Trafford, with the other four away from home, and the aim is to qualify for the round of 16 automatically by sealing a top-eight slot in the table. Clubs finishing between ninth and 24th meet in a knockout play-off round.
So what does this mean for the draw itself?
Well, it is obviously more complicated.
UEFA report that if the existing concept was used, almost 1,000 balls would be required, in addition to a minimum of 36 different bowls on stage.
So, instead, all 36 clubs will be manually drawn, using balls, and a "designated automated software", provided by AE Live, will randomly draw eight opponents from across the four pots. This information will be relayed at the venue and on television.
The computer will also allocate the home-and-away fixtures and the process will begin with Pot 1 and continue in descending order, until all the teams know their schedule.
On Saturday 31 August, the full list of kick-off dates and times will be revealed, ensuring there are no calendar clashes with sides playing in the same cities across the competitions.
It may take some getting used to but we will be across all the details nearer the time, including a full list of which teams we could meet in the league phase.