Manchester United and Wolves could meet in Europa League semi-finals
Manchester United and Wolves could potentially meet in an all-English Europa League semi-final.
With continental football resuming in August after the coronavirus suspension, the draw for next month’s eight-team mini-tournament in Germany was made on Friday.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are all-but through, having won 5-0 at LASK in the first leg of their last-16 tie, and United would face Copenhagen or Istanbul Basaksehir on August 10 in Cologne in the single-leg quarter-finals.
🔥 The #UELdraw is complete 🔥— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) July 10, 2020
Wolves would play Roma or Sevilla in the quarter-finals, the match taking place on August 11 in Duisburg, if they overcome Olympiacos, whom they drew 1-1 with in the first leg in Greece.
Should both Premier League sides progress to the semi-finals, the pair would do battle in a mouth-watering clash on August 16 in Cologne to decide who makes the August 21 final.
Wolves’ path to that point looks harder than that of United, while Rangers are on the other half of the draw.
Steven Gerrard’s men will face Inter Milan or Getafe in the quarter-finals if they manage an almighty last-16 comeback against Bayer Leverkusen, who secured a 3-1 win at Ibrox in March.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
🆕 @EuropaLeague Quarter-Final Draw— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) July 10, 2020
Shakhtar Donetsk or Wolfsburg face Basel or Frankfurt in the other quarter-final.
UEFA has given the green light for the round-of-16 second legs to be played on August 5 and 6 at home teams’ stadiums.
Inter Milan and Getafe, and Sevilla and Roma both had their Europa League last-16 first legs postponed, so those ties will be completed as a single leg in Germany before the tournament gets under way.
Duisburg, Dusseldorf, Gelsenkirchen and Cologne will be the host venues for the mini-tournament, with the latter hosting the final.
‘Maybe I’ll be signed by Wrexham, who knows? English football would suit me – if an offer came, I wouldn’t think twice, I’d go immediately’ Euro 2024 cult hero reveals his UK dream
‘Managing Leeds? It was an option that appeared, but it wasn’t the right timing. I decided it wasn’t a good idea to leave the club I was at mid-season’: Premier League boss admits to turning down opportunity to replace Jesse Marsch in 2023