Europa League early kick-offs: Manchester United pitch winning credentials in Russia as FC Rostov await

AVAILABLE: Manchester United's Ibrahimovic can play despite ban

 By Steven Oldham

Manchester United's away clash at Russian Premier League runners-up FC Rostov leads the early kick-offs in tonight's Europa League round of 16 first leg games. 

Jose Mourinho's side will look to return to winning ways after Saturday's fiery draw with Bournemouth at Old Trafford, which saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic pick up a retrospective three-match ban after accepting violent conduct charges for his clashes with Tyrone Mings.

The state of Rostov's threadbare pitch is a more pressing concern for United with Mourinho critical of the playing surface- described by UEFA as 'not perfect, but playable'.

He said: "It's hard for me to believe we are going to play on that field - if you can call it a field. I don't know which team to play." 

United will definitely be without Eric Bailly with the Frenchman suspended after a red card in the last round against Saint-Etienne, while Wayne Rooney and Luke Shaw have not made the trip. 

The returning Henrikh Mkhitaryan may now not be risked due to the pitch conditions. The Armeninan midfielder has been missing with a hamstring injury in recent fixtures. 

United should still have enough to overcome Rostov but need to be wary of complacency against a team that handed Bayern Munich a shock 3-2 defeat in the Champion's League group stages. 

The Russians performed solidly in their debut Champion's League campaign, picking up five points, finishing above seasoned European campaigners PSV Eindhoven to secure a place in this competition. They knocked Sparta Prague out 5-1 on aggregate in the previous round, winning the home leg 4-0. 

BARE: The under-fire pitch at Rostov's Olimp-2 stadium

FC COPENHAGEN vs AJAX

Reigning national champions FC Copenhagen head into this fixture on the back of an unbeaten season so far in the Danish Superliga, twelve points clear of nearest challengers Brondby ahead of the league split next month. A crushing 5-0 defeat of Horsens at the weekend extended this run to 24 games. 

The Danes narrowly missed out on qualification for the last 16 of the Champion's League and were unbeaten at home in the group stage without conceding a goal.  They eliminated Bulgarian side Ludogorets in the last round.

Ajax, meanwhile, are on a nine-match unbeaten run of their own in the Eredivisie, but their momentum suffered a slight blow at the weekend, only drawing 1-1 with mid-table Groningen. 

After comfortably winning their group ahead of fellow round of 16 qualifiers Celta Vigo, the Dutch team narrowly came through the last round, defeating Legia Warsaw 1-0 on aggregate thanks to Nick Viergever's home goal in the second leg. Defenders Joel Veltman and Davinson Sanchez both miss out through suspension. 
 

SUSPENDED: Ajax defender Joel Veltman is banned for the first leg

  APOEL NICOSIA vs ANDERLECHT 

Cypriot champions APOEL continue to punch above their weight in European competition, knocking out Spanish giants Athletic Bilbao in the previous round 4-3 on aggregate.

An impressive all-round performance saw them narrowly lose the first leg 3-2 before turning their opponents over at home, with Giannis Gianniotas scoring in both fixtures including the decisive penalty that took them through.

A morale-boosting 2-0 victory over Omonia in the Nicosia derby at the weekend will leave head coach Thomas Christiansen quietly confident ahead of this evening's game. 

Anderlecht, meanwhile, failed to live up to top billing in their group, finishing as runners-up to Saint-Etienne, but recovered to eliminate Zenit St Petersburg in the last round (albeit on away goals).

Domestically, they are joint top with Club Brugge but lost their most recent fixture 3-2 at Mechelen - their first league defeat since November. 

Anderlecht have no fewer than seven players one yellow card away from missing the return leg, so the likes of top scorer Youri Tielemans and double goalscorer from the Zenit victory Frank Acheampong need to be careful tonight.

IN FORM: Anderlecht's top scorer Youri Tielemans

UEFA Nations League: What's good? What's not?

By Steven Oldham

UEFA today confirmed a new continental competition for member countries - the Nations League will feature promotion and relegation and Euro 2020 places up for grabs.

The competition starts in 2018, after the World Cup in Russia has ended.  It is designed to replace the much maligned meaningless friendlies that disrupt domestic leagues throughout the season.

The 54 UEFA members will be split into four groups, based on rankings - so the top group is likely to feature Spain, Germany, England, Italy and so on.  Within these four groups, there will be smaller sub groups of 3 or 4 teams, with teams rewarded for success and demoted for failure.

Initial reaction to this new competition has been mixed.  Here I look at some of the arguments for and against the proposed tournament.

Pro: Internationals will matter again

As alluded to before, the Nations League will replace most of the European friendlies held throughout the year.  Although it will still frustrate clubs to release players for international duty, at least for this competition the fixtures will mean something.  How many times have key players been called up for friendlies which mean nothing and got injured at a crucial part of the season? 

Also, the decision to group teams together in proper leagues with others of similar ability mean the quality of football will be higher.  The thought of Portugal, France, Russia and The Netherlands scrapping it out to join the top tier (based on today's rankings) is a mouth-watering prospect for the neutral fan. 

Smaller teams will also improve.  Europe's minor nations will benefit from playing each other in a competitive match - which they don't get chance to at any time under the current pot allocation system for deciding qualifying groups.  If they're able to beat teams in and around them, they put themselves in better stead to improve in the future.  And be honest, who wouldn't watch Andorra vs San Marino out of morbid curiosity?

Con: Will teams be motivated after the World Cup?

This competition is set to start in September 2018, just two months after the World Cup Final.  There's a high likelihood one or even two of UEFA's members will go all the way.  Factor in the start of  new domestic campaigns across the continent and the Nations League may not sit highly in jaded players' list of priorities.

Opposition from clubs is likely to remain high despite the more important nature of the matches - there is still a risk of injury to their players - even more so in competitive, possibly fiery matches between international rivals.  Worn out players jetting across the continent is unlikely to impress managers looking to get their season off to the best possible start.

With Euro 2020 places up for grabs in all four Nations League divisions, this should provide an incentive to take the tournament seriously.  But what about the teams who have already qualified through the normal process? With 20 teams progressing from the groups, even mid ranking nations can be confident of making it through.  Countries like Slovenia, Austria and Israel should be the main beneficiaries of a 24-team finals, but will they give it their all in this competition if they qualify automatically?

 

Gibraltar at Euro 2020? This is their best chance



Pro: Euro 2020 slots up for grabs

Conversely, this brings me to my next plus point.  With four Euro 2020 slots available for the divisional winners, this is an excellent opportunity for countries to make it to the finals of a major tournament.  This gives countries who under perform in qualifying a unique second chance and there is the potential for lots of first-time qualifiers.  The fact that all four divisions will have a Euro 2020 place available is a real carrot for the smaller nations.  There is a much bigger chance for the continent's small fry to qualify this way, and while admittedly only occasionally, they are capable of upsetting the big boys - maybe on the biggest stage of them all?  With one of the bottom 16 ranked teams guaranteed a spot, it's all to play for.

Con: Will it weaken the European Championships in the long run?

However, this decision to realistically open up the Euro's to all member nations could damage the tournament.  UEFA have already done their worst - think the multi-country 2020 tournament  which will make the finals is logistical nightmare for fans and broadcasters.  The quality will also be diluted, with the mid-lower ranking teams half expecting a battering at the hands of the big guns.  Major tournaments are not the place for five or six goal victories. 

Estonia vs Serbia, with all respect due, is hardly likely to excite TV audiences.  The sheer number of games created by 24 team finals could lead to overkill.  Interest in the Euro's has always been lower than the World Cup, which has the global appeal and festival atmosphere to sustain interest even in the more humdrum group stages.

Conclusion:

On the whole, I think in theory the Nations League is a great idea.  There is the potential for some top class games to be played and the added carrot-on-a-stick of Euro slots for the lowest ranked teams should prove both entertaining and beneficial for these teams.

The format is not without faults, but I think UEFA should be congratulated for recognising the universal apathy towards friendlies and replacing them with a meaningful, interesting and prestigious competition.

With thanks to Associated Press and Daily Mail for the picture

Europa League needs to change...but is still a competition worth winning

By Steven Oldham

Tomorrow's Europa League round of sixteen includes many ties which bely the tournament's widely-regarded status as a poor relation of the Champions League.

UEFA's secondary competition offers €5m prize money to the winners, less than half of the team winning the more prestigious cup.  But this is still a substantial sum of money for any club with ambitions of a successful future.

There is no denying there are problems with the competition in its current form.  It's long and overdrawn - four qualifying rounds for a second tier tournament is far too many.

It's also unfair that teams who have slogged through the qualification process are likely to be knocked out by a team getting a second chance at European glory after being eliminated in the Champions League group stages.

Most of the teams in the initial qualification rounds have no chance of making the group stages of the competition, never mind the knock out rounds - obviously every country should be represented in continental competition - but the likes of Drogheda United and Sliema Wanderers are unlikely to ever make their mark on this competition.

A reorganisation of the Europa League could give the smaller, less powerful nations a chance to see their teams be successful.  A reintroduction of the Cup Winners Cup, also to include the 15 lowest ranked national champions, would be a step in the right direction - a shorter, higher quality Europa League and a more realistic competition for the smaller sides to enter.

Sadly, I think this is unlikely to happen, though a positive step has been made in that future Europa League winners will automatically be entered in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League.  A chance to improve and fight for the really big honours and money is just reward for teams winning this competition.  There are some very big clubs left in the last sixteen.

Clubs with real Champions League pedigree including Juventus, Valencia, Lyon and Benfica are among the sixteen teams fighting to reach the quarter finals.  Some have suggested the Europa is considered a distraction - an annoyance almost to these teams - but the additional games don't seem to be affecting Juve or Benfica who sit well clear atop of their respective leagues.
 
Juventus take on Fiorentina as hot favourites in an all Italian clash having beaten their rivals in domestic competition at the weekend.  The league leaders are in a rich vein of form and have won 8 of their last 10, while the Viola have slumped in recent weeks, collecting just 1 point from 12.
 
Sevilla and Real Betis clash in the round's only other same-nation tie with the hosts favourites - they've won their past three while their relegation threatened opponents look unlikely to be hosting continental football next season.  Betis are enduring a torrid season in La Liga and sit rock bottom, eight points from safety.

Last 32 action between Tottenham and Dnipro

 
Tottenham will look to recover from a morale-sapping 4-0 defeat at Chelsea at the weekend in a tough-looking tie against Benfica.  Comments from Spurs manager Tim Sherwood about his players fighting for their futures could encourage them to a good performance, but equally, could go the other way and further deplete their confidence.  Spurs laboured to a narrow victory over Dnipro in the last round, and such a performance will not be enough against the stronger Portuguese side.
 
Porto and Napoli are both seasoned European campaigners and it is a shame to see them paired together at this stage. However, Porto are having a tough season and recently sacked boss Paulo Fonseca.  They lie third in the league but have not won in four games, and struggled to put away a determined Eintracht Frankfurt team in the last round - having to rely on the away goals ruling.  Napoli are going well in Serie A and will be quietly confident.
 
Basel, Lyon, Anzhi and Valencia will head into their respective ties as favourites, but Red Bull Salzburg, Viktoria Plzen, AZ and Hungarian minnows Ludogorets Razgrad will be doing their best to grab the headlines.

What's the right thing to do with the Europa League? Disagree with my thoughts on the competition's future or tomorrow's games? Let me know here or on Twitter - @spoldham

Don't forget to vote in the poll at the bottom of the page!

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Thanks to Getty Images, AFP and UEFA for the photograph.