Their position in the bottom half of the Premier League table means victory in the Europa League is their best chance of returning to the Champions League next season and, with no teams dropping into the competition from the Champions League, they will fancy their chances of going all the way.
Manchester United will hope to brush aside their domestic woes and have a deep run in the Europa League after finding out their fate in the competition following the knockout draw in Switzerland.
After finishing as the third seed in the league phase, Manchester United went straight through to the last 16 and will face Real Sociedad.
United did not win any of their first three Europa League games under Erik ten Hag, before interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ruben Amorim steadied the ship.
The Europa League last 16 takes place across 6 and 13 March.
