Europa League standings: Will United qualify?

Manchester United occupy one of the automatic qualifying positions in the Europa League table, sitting seventh after six rounds of matches, with two games to play.

The Reds are one of five sides still unbeaten in this year’s competition, having followed up draws with Twente, Porto and Fenerbahce by beating PAOK, Bodo/Glimt and Viktoria Plzen.

The 12 points that we’ve gleaned from those games places us within the top eight of this season’s league phase, which could be vital come the early months of next year.

While finishing in a position between ninth and 24th would still offer the safety net of a play-off spot, head coach Ruben Amorim has explained the importance of avoiding those extra fixtures.

The boss wants time to work with his squad on the training pitches at Carrington, and an automatic berth in the last 16 – rather than having to play two more games to get there – would free up a couple of midweeks in February.

“We are in a good place in the table,” said Ruben, after Thursday’s game in the Czech Republic. “It’s really important we take those two games from our schedule, to find time to work.”

Calculating exact permutations are difficult, given the number of teams involved in this phase, but victories over Rangers, at Old Trafford, and FCSB, in Romania, would grant Amorim his wish when European competition resumes in late January. Four points would also probably be enough.

The higher a team finishes in the top eight, the better their seeding is for the last-16, and Lazio and Athletic Club – whose San Mames ground will host May’s final – currently lead the way, with five wins and a draw.

Third-placed Anderlecht and Galatasaray, in sixth, have also yet to lose a game, while Lyon, 2022 winners Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers round out the current automatic berths.

Tottenham, who drew 1-1 at Ibrox on Thursday, lead the chasers from the play-off positions, with the likes of Ajax, Real Sociedad, Roma and Conference League holders Olympiacos all hoping to push on after Christmas.

In the inaugural season of the new format, there appears to be a real absence of ‘dead rubbers’, with Dynamo Kyiv the only team to have been eliminated. The Ukrainians have lost all six games in the competition so far.

EUROPEAN DATES FOR 2025

23 January: United v Rangers
30 January: FCSB v United
13/20 February: Knockout phase play-offs
6/13 March: Round of 16
10/17 April: Quarter-finals
1/8 May: Semi-finals
21 May: Final

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