Cologne (Germany) (AFP)

No French club is playing the prestigious "Final 8" of the Europa League in Germany, but the L1 will have their sights set on Monday and Tuesday on the quarter-finals, which could deliver a direct ticket to the Champions League ... in Rennes.

Third in Ligue 1, the Breton club must theoretically pass two preliminary rounds to access the C1 next season. But he will enter the group stage directly if the winner of the Europa League is already qualified through his championship.

Four of the eight clubs involved in the final tournament in Germany are in this case: Manchester United, Inter, Sevilla FC and Shakhtar Donetsk. As they do not meet in the quarterfinals, Rennes would be qualified for the C1 on Tuesday if this quartet found itself in the semi-final!

This unprecedented "Final 8", imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, is modeled on that of the Champions League in Lisbon: unique knockout matches from the quarter-finals, all behind closed doors and in a single site, at know western Germany (Düsseldorf, Cologne, Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen).

Five former winners of the competition, under its current name or under the old formula of "UEFA Cup", are in contention: Manchester United, Sevilla, Inter, Shakhtar Donetsk and Leverkusen.

But it is the Mancuniens, with their stars Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes or Marcus Rashford, who are this year of scarecrows.

The Red Devils finished the Premier League on the hats of wheels, with a streak of fourteen consecutive games without defeat.

Coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has given the team a new lease of life. A victory in the Europa League would allow him to enter the gotha ​​of the great coaches of the club, following José Mourinho, who had led the reds to victory in this same competition in 2017.

In the quarter-final on Monday (9:00 p.m.), ManU will obviously be favorites against Copenhagen, a team far from having the same international experience. The rest could be more difficult, as the winner of the Wolverhampton-Sevilla match will then stand in their way.

Seville is THE specialist in the event, with five victories already in the 20th century, including three consecutive in 2014-2015-2016, under the leadership of Unai Emery.

Now led by Julen Lopetegui, the Andalusians offered themselves Thursday the scalp of Roma in the round of 16, in a single match (2-0) in Duisburg. They face the unexpected English team Wolverhampton, seventh in the Premier League this season, which has nothing to lose in this competition.

In the other half of the table, Inter Milan arrives with the label of favorite, but will however have to get rid of a Bayer Leverkusen in quarter (Monday 21:00) almost at home (despite the absence of an audience!) And carried by his young German nuggets Kai Havertz and French Moussa Diaby.

The Italians also finished the season cannonball, vice-champions behind Juve, with only one defeat in the last 12 rounds of Serie A. Their main offensive asset will be the powerful Belgian scorer Romelu Lukaku.

If they cross the Leverkusen obstacle, Inter will meet in the semi-final the survivor of the match between Ukrainians Shakhtar Donetsk and Swiss Basel. The Ukrainians have already won the Europa League in 2009.

The program:

Monday August 10

(21H00) Inter Milan (ITA) - Bayer Leverkusen (GER) in Dusseldorf

(21H00) Manchester United (ENG) - Copenhagen (DEN) to Cologne

Tuesday August 11

(21H00) Wolverhampton (ENG) - Seville (ESP) to Duisburg

(9:00 p.m.) Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) - Basel (SUI) to Gelsenkirchen

© 2020 AFP