Ighalo, Victor Moses on centre stage as Europa League resumes on StarTimes
Europa League is set to return on Wednesday, August 5, after hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The matches will air live on World Football and Sports Premium Channels, exclusively on StarTimes.
Hopes are high amongst Manchester United’s fans for a trophy this season after failing to clinch any in their domestic leagues. Odion Ighalo’s Manchester United are in a strong position to reach the next stage of the competition as they hold a 5-0 first-leg lead over LASK with the second game yet to be played. United will play Copenhagen or Istanbul Basaksehir in the Europa League quarter-finals if they overcome LASK on Wednesday.
Manchester United are among the favourites to lift the Europa League, followed by Inter Milan and Bayer Leverkusen.
Victor Moses has shifted his focus to the Europa League after helping Inter Milan finish as Serie A runners-up in the 2019-20 season. Inter Milan will play Getafe on Wednesday at 8 pm.
Other matches on Wednesday include Copenhagen vs Istanbul Basaksehir (agg 0-1); and Shakhtar Donetsk vs Wolfsburg (agg 2-1).
On Thursday, Wolver Hampton Wanderers will face Olympiakos. Both finished 1-1 in the first leg in Greece.
Other second leg fixtures on Thursday include Bayer Leverkusen vs Rangers (agg 3-1); and Basel vs Eintracht Frankfurt (agg 3-0). A one-legged tie between Sevilla and Roma on Thursday promises to be another fascinating match. Unfortunately, they were unable to play their first leg fixture before football actions were suspended owing to the pandemic.
The 2019/20 Europa League final was due to be staged in Gdansk, Poland, on May 27. However, the Covid-19 outbreak caused that to be postponed and the final will now take place in Cologne on August 21.
The format of the final stages of the competition has been amended with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final all now set to be held in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
