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

World Cup power rankings - every country rated 1-16

By Steven Oldham

The group stages are over. There is no football on tomorrow. It's the perfect opportunity to look back on the opening 48 games of the tournament and where they leave each country in the rankings.

1 NETHERLANDS
(P3, W3, D0, L0, F10, A3, GD +6)
9 POINTS

Louis Van Gaal's team have arguably been the most impressive team so far in Brazil, recording three straight victories in what looked a very tough group. Their demolition of Spain set them up for qualification and they kept their heads in the group decider against Chile to top the group and avoid hosts Brazil in the second round. Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie look to be in the form of their lives.



Robin van Persie (@foreverutd)

2 COLOMBIA
(P3, W3, D0, L0, F9, A2)
9 POINTS

Colombia could be the ultimate surprise package of this World Cup. They have made light work of an open group and reinforced their status as dark horses. Often overlooked in favour of their more illustrious continental neighbours, Colombia have so far outperformed Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Dangerous for any opponent and they will not be daunted by facing Uruguay in the round of sixteen, especially with Luis Suarez now banned.

3 ARGENTINA
(P3, W3, D0, L0, F6, A3, GD +3)
9 POINTS

Argentina have gained a 100% record in their group without ever really hitting top gear and without Lionel Messi in the team they might have struggled to put their opponents to the sword. Nevertheless they topped the group with little trouble, but looked potentially vulnerable defensively against Nigeria, and they struggled to break down Iran in a game many thought they would win by a cricket score.

4 BELGIUM
(P3, W3, D0, L0, F4, A1, GD +3)

The Belgians are similar to Argentina in progressing comfortably without fully turning up as of yet. Widely tipped to do well before the tournament began, they have shown flashes of brilliance, but look solid rather than spectacular so far. Defensively they shared the best record with Costa Rica, but given the riches they possess in attack, four goals is a disappointing return and they will be looking to Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku to improve if they are live up to their challengers billing.

5 FRANCE
(P3, W2, D1, L0, F8, A2, GD +6)
7 POINTS

Didier Deschamps' team have more than exorcised the demons of South Africa four years ago with their performances so far. Most impressive was their 5-2 mauling of Switzerland which in effect won them the group. France are either brilliant or terrible at tournaments, never in between, and they have produced some silky football in Brazil so far this summer. They will be confident of making the last eight.

6= BRAZIL
(P3, W2, D1, L0, F7, A2, GD+5)
7 POINTS

The hosts have not yet reached their brilliant best, and yet Brazil never looked as if they would fail to top the group. This is not a vintage Brazilian team though and they are too over reliant on Neymar to produce the goods. Frustrated by Mexico, given more than a helping hand against Croatia, they only really found their swagger against Cameroon who were already out. They have also been handed a tough second round tie against Chile. Could they go out in the second round?

6= GERMANY
(P3, W2, D1, L0, F7, A2, GD+5)
7 POINTS

Joachim Low's men put their best performance in against Portugal in their opening game, with Thomas Muller hitting a hat trick that looked ominous for the other countries at this year's World Cup. They haven't been as impressive since and Ghana nearly gave them a shock result before a point was recovered. They have been handed a kind looking draw against Algeria but need to be wary of the North Africans' pace on the break.

8= COSTA RICA
(P3,W2, D1, L0, F4, A1, GD +3)
7 POINTS

Nobody gave Costa Rica a chance when they were drawn alongside Uruguay, Italy and England in Group D last year. Excellent performances from the likes of Joel Campbell and Oscar Duarte have given everybody large helpings of humble pie as the Central Americans topped the group with relative ease. Solid defensively and dangerous on the break, they could go even further - their second round clash with Greece could've been much worse.

Oscar Duarte (@FUTBOL_RVTE)

8= MEXICO
(P3,W2, D1, L0, F4, A1, GD +3)
7 POINTS

Mexico were the only team to take points off Brazil in Group A and kept them at bay to record a clean sheet and looked impressive. Had the refereeing been up to scratch in their opener against Cameroon they may well have topped the group, with two perfectly good goals scratched off before they eventually won 1-0. They showed in their decisive game against Croatia they can perform under pressure and while they may struggle against the Netherlands, it's a far cry from the traumas of qualification where they very nearly missed out on a playoff place to minnows Panama.

10 CHILE
(P3, W2, D0, L1, F5, A3, GD +2)
6 POINTS

Before the tournament began, Chile were a team many people thought could push the European teams close, but it was always imagined the Netherlands may be the fall guys. Chile have helped end an era of Spanish domination of world football and at the same time announced themselves as potential major players in this World Cup. Their all-out attacking style sometimes leaves them vunerable at the back, but they will not be overwhelmed by facing Brazil in round two, whose defence looks suspect too often.

11 SWITZERLAND
(P3, W2, D0, L1, F7, A6, GD +1)
6 POINTS

Switzerland did well to recover from their 5-2 defeat to France to convincingly beat Honduras to secure their passage to the last 16. They showed great spirit to keep fighting to the end against Ecuador to score what proved to be a vital winner in the 93rd minute, and along with France they helped Europe fight a mini comeback against the native South Americans - Ecuador were the only team from the continent to be knocked out at this stage. Bayern Munich midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri's hat trick against Honduaras will have caught the eye of Argentina's backline.


12 URUGUAY
(P3, W2, D0, L1, F4, A4, GD 0)
6 POINTS

Oscar Tabarez's team will now have to contest what's left of their World Cup without Luis Suarez after his latest inexcusable bite saw him banned for four months by FIFA. They will definitely miss the Liverpool player and continental rivals Colombia will head into the match as favourites. The Uruguayans did well to recover from a truly dismal start against Costa Rica, but deserved to have men sent off against both England and Italy, which could have made the final standings in Group D much different.

13 ALGERIA
(P3, W1, D1, L1, F6, A5, GD +1)
4 POINTS

Another surprise qualifier for the second round, there is no denying Algeria deserve to make it. They gave the first indication that Belgium may not be the world beaters everyone believed they were in their opening match, and played some brilliant flowing football to dismantle a shell shocked South Korea side to secure their best ever World Cup result. They've now made more history by reaching the knockout rounds for the first time and will have gained many neutral fans' support for their impressive style of play.

14 USA
(P3, W1, D1, L1, F4, A4, GD 0)
4 POINTS

Jurgen Klinsmann's side progressing is a literal middle finger to those berating his decision not to include Landon Donovan in his squad. Given slim to no hope of escaping this group, they set their stall out early on by beating Ghana, and narrowly missed out on securing a famous win over Portugal by letting in a 95th minute equaliser. Germany helped them progress by tonking the Portuguese in the first game, but the US put themselves in contention and now look forward to the knockout stages for the third time in four tournaments.

15 NIGERIA
(P3, W1, D1, L1, F3, A3, GD 0)
4 POINTS

The reigning African champions duly became the first team from their continent to book their place in the round of sixteen. They improved as the group stage progressed, and will be disappointed by their failure to beat Iran in their opener. They overcame dangerous debutants Bosnia Herzegovina however, and put their best performance in against Argentina despite losing. They looked dangerous going forward and while they are unlikely to get the better of France, qualification for the knockouts is progress for a country that has failed to do since 1998.

16 GREECE
(P3, W1, D1, L1, F2, A4, GD -2)
4 POINTS

Greece's surprise love affair with major tournaments continues. Well beaten by Colombia in their opener it looked bad for the Greeks, with many predicting three defeats in as many games. They shared a draw with a desperately disappointing Japanese side who failed to live up to their obvious potential this year. Their win over Cote D'Ivoire in the final round of group games was both brilliant and cruel, for Greece had looked anything but a last sixteen side before they went through.

Check back later for the rankings of the sides already going home.