EUROPA League
Man United boost as Rashford, Shaw travel to Sevilla
Striker Marcus Rashford and defender Luke Shaw have recovered from injuries to improve Manchester United’s chances of making the Europa League semi-finals, manager Erik ten Hag said ahead of their quarter-final second leg against Sevilla.
The England internationals travelled to Spain with the rest of the squad as United bid to advance on Thursday after last week’s disappointing 2-2 draw at Old Trafford.
“They are available because that’s why they’re in the airplane, but I’ll take my decisions tomorrow,” Ten Hag told a news conference on Wednesday.
“Marcus had one session with the team (prior to today), but he had some more individually.”
Rashford missed the first leg due to a groin injury while Shaw has been nursing a hamstring problem.
United conceded two late own goals to allow Sevilla to draw the first leg after Marcel Sabitzer’s quickfire double in the first half put them in control of the tie.
“We let them in the game, I think, in the first game,” midfielder Christian Eriksen said. “We had good control for the first hour.
“They’ve had a lot of different coaches this season, but they are now starting to win games and being in a bit safer spot. They’re very direct, they’re in a good shape.”
Ten Hag is looking for more from his strikers.
“I think defensively we’re good, with I think most clean sheets in the Premier League. Our organisation, all over the pitch, is good. In attack… we should have scored more goals during the whole season,” Ten Haag said.
“But I’m confident, especially now that we have all the players on board, that we should score in every game and I’m confident we can do that tomorrow as well.”
United will be without midfielder Scott McTominay and defenders Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to a fractured foot.
Midfielder Bruno Fernandes is suspended after picking up a yellow card in the first game against Sevilla.
United are third in the Premier League on 59 points, three above fourth-placed Newcastle United.
-Reuters
List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to the round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
-Reuters
UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston
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Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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Crystal Palace’s appeal against UEFA’s decision to drop them from the Europa League to the third-tier Conference League was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday.
UEFA demoted Palace while allowing Olympique Lyonnais to play in the Europa League as, at the time of assessment on March 1, the Eagle Football Group were majority owners of Lyon while their chairman, John Textor, owned a controlling stake in Palace.
Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, will replace Palace in the Europa League.
“After considering the evidence, the panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC and OL and was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date,” the CAS said in a statement.
“The panel also dismissed the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL.”
Palace did not respond to a request for comment. Club chairman Steve Parish told reporters on Sunday that if Palace lost the appeal, they would “have to look if there’s any steps after that.”
The club, who qualified for the Europa League as FA Cup winners, appealed against UEFA’s decision last month.
The appeal came days before New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson completed the purchase of Eagle Football Holdings’ stake in Palace.
Textor has also resigned from Lyon’s board of directors with Michele Kang appointed chairwoman and president.
As both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League, the French club were allowed to keep their place because they had finished higher in their respective league. Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 while Palace were 12th in the Premier League.
“Olympique Lyonnais welcomes today’s decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirming its participation in the Europa League,” Lyon said in a statement.
Palace, who won the Community Shield on Sunday , beating Liverpool in a penalty shootout, are set to play in the Conference League’s qualifying playoff round later this month.
-Reuters
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