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Pochettino: Manchester United in for Europa League shock

Europa League football may harm United’s Premier League prospects too, with Thursday night fixtures notoriously hard to juggle with domestic matches.

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“It’s hard to guess what will happen in the future [in the league]”.

“There is a big difference because the bigger travel and playing on a Thursday night always affects the players’ psychology”.

We give our listeners the run-down of everything you need to know, as matchday 6 in Europa League wraps up the group stage while the round of 32 awaits.

For their part, Wolfsburg are using their usual five-man attack that we’ve frequently seen this season, eschewing the belief that was circulating that they’d play a more defensive shape to assure that they simply wouldn’t lose – unlike Manchester, a draw works out just fine for Wolfsburg’s advancement.

Where United have been used to iconic venues and all the trimmings that go with the Champions League, Spurs’ last excursion in Europe was a six-hour flight to face Qarabag in Azerbaijan.

“It is hard to find the solution”, Pochettino said. Sure, your Premier League campaign is an utter disaster at the moment, but you can still win this year’s CL to get back into next year’s tournament.

Neil Lennon says the current Manchester United players belong in the Europa League.

Swansea fired manager Garry Monk on Wednesday after the team’s slump in form in the Premier League, ending his two-year stint in charge in which he guided the club to its highest finish in England’s top division.

“In France, the gap between [leaders] Paris Saint-Germain and second place is 10 or 12 points, [so] they can afford to rest players at the weekend”.

Leverkusen wound up level with Roma on points, but now drop to the Champions League by virtue of CL tiebreakers.

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Ryan Mason and Alex Pritchard are also missing with ankle injuries while Pochettino may take the chance to rest players ahead of Sunday’s home game against Newcastle.

Mauricio Pochettino