United, Arsenal carry English hopes in Europa League

Manchester United and last year’s finalists Arsenal headline an English trio that also features Europa League newcomers Wolves while record five-time champions Sevilla figure to be among the primary contenders as the group stage begins on Thursday.

Scottish rivals Celtic and Rangers face testing paths to the knockout rounds as bitter foes Roma and Lazio bid to end Italy’s two-decade wait for the title.

Porto, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord are the other former European Cup winners in a competition that will welcome the eight third-place finishers from the Champions League groups for the knockout phase.

United, Europa League winners in 2017, will host Astana in Group L as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side face opponents from Kazakhstan for the first time in club history.

They will expected to progress with relative ease from a group that also includes Partizan Belgrade and former finalists AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands.

Solskjaer will hand promising striker Mason Greenwood a chance to lead a United youth revolution.

 United manager Solskjaer believes Greenwood is one of the best finishers he has ever seen and he will give the 17-year-old his opportunity to shine when Astana visit at Old Trafford.

Greenwood has made four substitute appearances this season, but Solskjaer told reporters on Wednesday that the English teenager would start against the Kazakhstan champions.

“He is still very young, Mason, but he’s maturing,” Solskjaer said. “He’s developed so much in the last six months since I came in.

“I remember the kid who just wanted to play with mates in the Under-18s. And now he’s knocking on a door, he’s ready to play these games.

“For me, he has been in the Under-21s with England, he’s tasting it more and more. And his appetite for football must be growing.

“I just don’t want to put too much pressure on him, apart from go out there and enjoy yourself.

“I know he’ll make the right finish. Keeper might make a fantastic save but he’s one of the best finishers I’ve seen.

“It’s just that enjoyment, express yourself, go out at Old Trafford because there’ll be 11 Astana players living the dream tomorrow.”

Solskjaer intends to change tack as his side embark on their Europa League journey as the manager focuses on the youth at his disposal.

Unai Emery’s Arsenal return to the competition after last season’s 4-1 defeat by Chelsea in the final in Baku saw the Blues pip them to Champions League qualification.

The Gunners visit Eintracht Frankfurt to kick off their campaign, with 10-time Belgian champions Standard Liege and Portugal’s Vitoria Guimaraes also in Group F. Wolves, in their first European campaign since 1980, will meet Portuguese club Braga in their opening game at Molineux.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s team came through three ties just to reach the group stage. They beat Torino 5-3 on aggregate in the play-offs.

“I think any team in the Europa League are a good team who we will respect going up against them. We will give everything, try to play and try to beat any team,” said Wolves winger Adama Traore.

“Any player wants to play in Europe, but the Europa League is exciting, it is a new thing for us and it’s a good thing.”

Scottish champions Celtic travel to French Cup holders Rennes in Group E, with Italian Cup holders Lazio and CFR Cluj, the Romanian side to whom they lost in Champions League qualifying, completing a tricky section.

Steven Gerrard’s Rangers are at home to Jaap Stam’s Feyenoord on Thursday and will do well to navigate a group with Porto and Swiss champions Young Boys.

Roma will take on Istanbul Basaksehir in their first game while Moenchengladbach host Austria’s Wolfsberg — not to be confused with German outfit Wolfsburg.

Austria boast two representatives with LASK Linz among the six debutants — alongside Espanyol, Wolves, Wolfsberg, Olexandriya and Ferencvaros — in the tournament.

UEFA will distribute 560 million euros to clubs competing in this season’s Europa League, just over a quarter of the 1.95 billion euros allocated to those participating in the Champions League.

Each of the 48 clubs in the group stage will receive a base of 2.92 million euros, with lifting the trophy worth just under 18 million euros in basic prize money.  Teams will net 570,000 euros per win and 190,000 for a draw with additional revenue coming through television markets and money depending on each team’s UEFA ranking.

By comparison, the Champions League winners stand to take home around 75 million euros before considerable sums are tacked based on the market pool and coefficient ranking. The final will be held in the Polish city of Gdansk on May 27, 2020.

Agence France-Presse