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Analysis

Who are LASK? Manchester United draw Austrian side in Europa League

First leg will take place on Thursday March 12, with the second-leg ties following a week later on Thursday March 19

LASK celebrate a goal in their Europa League last-32 second-leg against AZ Alkmaar
Image: LASK are into the Europa League last-16 for the first time

Manchester United will face LASK in the Europa League last-16 - but who are they? We profile the Austrian league leaders.

In terms of UEFA ranking, United could not have got a better result as the teams were drawn out of the hat for the next round of Europa League action.

LASK, who have never reached this stage of a European competition, are ranked 103rd by UEFA with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side 93 places ahead of them in placings.

  • LASK UEFA ranking: 103
  • Domestic position: 1st in Austrian Bundesliga
  • How they got here: Group D winners, beat AZ Alkmaar 3-1 on aggregate in last 32
  • Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: Round of 32 (1984/85, 1985/86)

Runners-up to Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga last season, LASK are partaking in a UEFA competition for the first time since 2000 after a poor run that saw them relegated to the second tier.

The club won promotion back to the Bundesliga in 2017 and have become a major domestic force, powering to the top of the league this season under manager Valerien Ismael, who had spells at Nurnberg and Wolfsburg before moving to Austria.

That winning mentality has transferred itself to their European exploits as they finished top of Group D in the Europa League group stages, finishing above PSV and Sporting Lisbon with an impressive feat of beating the two European giants at home by an aggregate score of 7-1.

In the last 32, they overcame AZ Alkmaar 3-1 on aggregate over two legs.

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The first leg will take place on Thursday March 12, with the second-leg ties following a week later on Thursday March 19.

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