Manchester City and Manchester United stand on the brink as the Europa League round of 16 concludes this Thursday.
Changing times. With Manchester United top of the table Alex Ferguson's priorities have changed. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Sir Alex Ferguson faces an interesting challenge as he takes United to Spain for a tricky second leg against Athletic Bilbao. So well might his counterpart at Manchester City, Roberto Mancini, as Sporting comes to town.
Because of the global reach of the Barclays Premier League there will be more attention to the two Manchester clubs than the rest of the card. But United's bid to overturn a 3-2 first leg deficit is just one of seven Europa League contests on a full card of action.
Fox Soccer is the new home of the Europa League, with television coverage beginning next season. This year, every game can be seen on DirecTV or GolTV, and every game is tracked in real-time via Twitter @FoxSoccerTrax.
Ferguson, has probably never managed a match he didn't want to win, but you might get the sense that this trip to Bilbao could be something of a poisoned pawn for United. Ferguson has a team which certainly might place more focus on denying its city rival a Premier League title than on collecting a cup that isn't exactly considered the biggest prize in Europe. And that means managing the resources quite carefully.
For Manchester United, this game comes just 72 hours before it heads to relegation-threatened Wolves in a vital Premier League match. Obviously, Ferguson will have to rely on his squad's depth to get results and you would suspect three points on Sunday looks more important right now than an extended run in Europe's 'second' club tournament.
United was outplayed at home in the first leg by a Bilbao side that features Iker Muniain, one of the rising stars in Europe. Athletic was quicker, looked sharper and was coasting with a two-goal advantage until a late penalty threw Ferguson's team a lifeline. Whether or not they can build on that on hostile soil is another matter.
Roberto Mancini must decide whether to gamble on winning two trophies. (Photo by Paulo Duarte/AP Images)
The team that United wants so badly to pip in the BPL, Manchester City, starts 1-0 down to visiting Sporting. It's a match that will leave City manager Mancini with the same kind of squad-decision problem that Ferguson faces. Does he pick his best side here with a showdown against Chelsea coming next Wednesday or does he try to advance with a polyglot collection of starters and reserves?
Sporting is trying to revive its Portuguese fortunes as well. They head to Manchester without American Oguchi Oneywu (injured) but with a one-goal lead. City actually did enough in Portugal to have finished level, but Mancini's men have looked tired in recent weeks and their lack of sparkle in a loss at Swansea on Sunday reflected a side that may be feeling the pressure of too much "must win" football.
Nonetheless, the visitors will be challenged to keep City off the board at the Etihad Stadium and don’t be surprised if Mancini gambles on taking both crowns.
Dutch leader AZ Alkmaar, where Jozy Altidore has gotten back among the goals recently, heads to Udinese with a 2-0 lead, one of three traveling sides that will fancy their chances in second leg games.
Valencia also is two-up, going to PSV Eindhoven with a 4-2 first leg advantage, while Atletico Madrid starts 3-1 up at Besiktas in another match where the away team should advance.
Olympiacos joins Athletic Bilbao as the only team to start out ahead. The Greeks suprised Metalist Kharkiv 1-0 in the first leg in the Ukraine, but that contest still looks too close to call. Schalke, with Jermaine Jones, needs to recover from a 1-0 first leg loss when they host FC Twente in Gelsenkirchen.
The final match pits Steve Cherundolo's Hannover against Standard Liege. That one starts 2-2 with those two away goals favoring the Germans to reach the final right.
