United, Liverpool, Spurs lead England’s charge in Europa – Fans plan ticket price protest

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PARIS, Feb 17, (Agencies): Napoli, Borussia Dortmund, Porto, Sevilla and a host of continental big guns as well as English clubs Manchester United, Tottenham and Liverpool swing into Europa League action in the last-32 knock out phase on Thursday.

In fact one clash has already begun on Tuesday as Turkey’s Fenerbahce took a 2-0 advantage over rusty Lokomotiv Moscow, who were playing their first match since the Russian winter break began.

Manchester United dream of redeeming their dull season by triumph in the Europa League, and in fact their coach Luis van Gaal won the old UEFA Cup with Ajax.

He takes United to little known Danish club Midtjylland, who are seeking a second English scalp after knocking out Southampton earlier in the season.

Formed just 16 years ago the Central Jutland club’s main threat could be Pione Sisto, a flashy winger born in Uganda but now a Danish under-21 international.

United made the trip Wednesday without their talismanic captain Wayne Rooney.

“Wayne Rooney is a notable absentee from the flight and the manager is expected to confirm why during his pre-match press conference,” the United website said.

Meanwhile local fans have prepared a banner with the phrase: ‘Welcome to Scamdinavia’ on it to welcome the 800 strong United fans who are in uproar having paid £71 ($101, 91 euros) for their tickets.

Jurgen Klopp returns to Germany for the first time as Liverpool travel to Ausburg buoyed by a 6-0 drubbing of Villa, where Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi all progressed after injury comebacks.

The Liverpool boss was trying to play down the event saying :”During the draw, I wasn’t thinking ‘please let it be a German club’. while the relegation threatened opponents were on fever pitch.

In-form Argentinian striker Mauro Zarate lies in wait as English title chasing Tottenham swing into Florence to face Fiorentina hoping their own Argentine Erik Lamela can add to his five European goals form the qualifying round. Three of those came in the first half of their last European outing, a 4-1 win over Monaco.

Games of interest elsewhere includes Dortmund hosting Porto, Italian title contenders Napoli travelling to Villarreal and Sporting Lisbon hosting Bayer Leverkusen. The return legs are played in a week’s time.

Meanwhile, Manchester United fans are planning to protest against being asked to pay 71 pounds ($102) per ticket for their Europa League away match against Danish champions Midtjylland on Thursday, British media reported.

Southampton fans paid 22 pounds for tickets when their team travelled to Midtjylland in the playoff round in August and United supporters will display banners to indicate their dissatisfaction.

One United fan, Thomas Kearney, plans to unfurl a banner at the stadium with the words ‘WELCOME TO SCAMDINAVIA’ on it.

Last week, Liverpool’s owners abandoned plans to raise the price of the most expensive match-day ticket to 77 pounds next season after supporters staged a walkout protest during a home game against Sunderland.

Duncan Drasco, chief executive of the Independent Manchester United Supporters’ Trust, described Midtjylland’s stand on pricing as a real slap in the face.

“Clubs need to accept they are not selling tickets in a normal competitive market as fan loyalty means each club is an effective monopoly so they shouldn’t be applying normal supply and demand economics,” he added.

Midtjylland director Cliff Crown, however, defended the price.

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