Europa League: How things stand ahead of the restart

The Europa League resumes this week as the first fixtures in the competition since March are played out to determine who progresses to the quarter-finals and beyond.

The 2019/20 Europa League final was due to be staged in Gdansk, Poland, on May 27, however, the competition will have a very different look to it with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final now all set to be held in Germany with the final taking place in Cologne on August 21.

All games will kick-off at 8pm and are one-legged ties played at Cologne’s RheinEnergieStadion, Schalke’s Veltins Arena, Fortuna Düsseldorf’s Merkur Spiel-Arena and MSV Duisburg’s Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena.

But first, the remaining round of last-16 second-legs must be played to determine who progresses to the mini-tournament which will decide the 2020 Europa League winners.

The fixtures will take place on August 5 and 6, with Inter Milan vs Getafe and Sevilla vs Roma being reduced to a single knockout game as their first legs were also postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Manchester United are in a strong position to reach the next stage of the competition which they won for the first time in 2017 as they hold a 5-0 first-leg lead over LASK with the second game still to be played at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

Barring a miracle and assuming they overcome the Austrian side, The Reds will play Copenhagen or Istanbul Basaksehir in the Europa League quarter-finals in Cologne on August 10.

The other English side in the competition, Wolverhampton Wanderers, will face Sevilla or Roma at the Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena on August 11 if they progress in their tie against Olympiakos.

The first-leg finished 1-1 in Greece and there’s now an added incentive for Nuno Espírito Santo’s side having missed out on qualification for next season’s tournament after Arsenal’s FA Cup final win over Chelsea at Wembley.

Meanwhile, if Rangers are to progress to the quarter-finals and face either Inter Milan or Getafe, they must first overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit against Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday, some five months after the German team won at Ibrox.

Remaining Last 16 fixtures

Wednesday, August 5

Copenhagen vs Istanbul Basaksehir (agg 0-1) – 17.55
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Wolfsburg (agg 2-1) – 17.55
Inter Milan vs Getafe – one-legged tie (Schalke, Germany) 20:00
Man Utd vs LASK (agg 5-0) – 20:00

Thursday, August 6

Bayer Leverkusen vs Rangers (agg 3-1) – 17:55
Sevilla vs Roma – one-legged tie (Duisburg, Germany) – 17:55
Basel vs Eintracht Frankfurt (agg 3-0) – 20:00
Wolves vs Olympiakos (agg 1-1) – 20:00

Quarter-finals

Monday, August 10 – quarter-final 1&2

LASK or Man Utd vs Istanbul Basaksehir or Copenhagen (RheinEnergieStadion)
Inter Milan or Getafe vs Rangers or Bayer Leverkusen (Merkur Spiel-Arena)

Tuesday, August 11 – quarter-final 3&4

Wolfsburg or Shakhtar Donetsk vs Eintracht Frankfurt or Basel (Veltins Arena)
Olympiakos or Wolves vs Sevilla or Roma (Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena)