How Man Utd's Europa League draw impacts Antonio Conte and Tottenham in Champions League battle

Manchester United are going to have an incredibly hectic schedule in the final few months of the season that could potentially benefit Tottenham in the top-four race

Tottenham fans could only watch on as the draw for the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals and semi-finals took place in Switzerland on Friday. Exiting the competition just over a week ago after a 1-0 aggregate defeat against AC Milan, Spurs will have to wait until September for their next opportunity to play in the competition.

Antonio Conte's side now have 11 games remaining in their Premier League campaign to secure a top-four finish, with Newcastle United, Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion also in the mix. Tottenham's recent cup exits means that their main focus is now on the top four, although everyone connected with the club would no doubt have liked a few more games on the calendar in their quest to finally end their silverware drought.

Spurs can move into third place in the Premier League table this weekend providing that they beat Southampton at St Mary's as Manchester United are taking part in the FA Cup. The Red Devils will have two games in hand over Spurs in the race for a Champions League spot, with those extra fixtures potentially a deciding factor in the final table.

Erik ten Hag's men will face a rather cramped schedule in the final two months of the campaign once domestic football resumes after the international break. Tottenham, on the other hand, will just have ten games to contend with as they look to achieve their top-four aspirations.

That heavy workload could quite easily catch up with the Red Devils in the final weeks of the season, thus possibly playing into Spurs' hands in the process. Favourites to beat Fulham in their FA Cup quarter-final tie on Sunday afternoon, United also have European glory on their mind after successfully negotiating their way past Real Betis in the Europa League Round of 16.

Man United will return to Andalusia in the next round of the competition having been paired with Sevilla in the quarter-finals. If they do indeed advance beyond the serial Europa League winners, their reward will be a semi-final showdown against one of Juventus or Sporting CP.

Ten Hag couldn't have asked for a harder route to the final and his side are going to have to be at their very best if they are to go all the way and lift the trophy in Budapest, Hungary at the end of May. A cup treble is very much on for United after already winning the Carabao Cup and they will be fully focused on achieving that objective to make it an incredibly successful first season in Manchester for the Dutchman.

Whereas Tottenham have 11 games remaining before their 2022/23 season draws to a close, the Red Devils will have an eye-watering 20 games to play if they are to reach the finals of both the Europa League and FA Cup. That huge total, which will hand them a jam-packed schedule with games coming every few days, will undoubtedly catch up with them at some point as it is going to be extremely hard to manage and also keep the same high levels and intensity Ten Hag wants.

In terms of their league fixtures, United still have crunch games coming up against Newcastle, Tottenham, Brighton and Chelsea. Tottenham themselves face some pivotal games, notably against the Red Devils and Liverpool, and there will undoubtedly still be plenty of twists and turns in what remains of the season.

All Conte and Tottenham can do is concentrate on themselves, though. Finishing third could be a realistic option for the Lilywhite given United's challenging schedule but that will all come down to Spurs doing their job first and foremost.