Manchester United don't want to be in the Europa League, though they have become a little more familiar with UEFA's second-tier competition in recent years.
Nevertheless, this is the first time since the 2019-20 season that they've entered the Europa League in the group stage and there were positives to take from that campaign.
Those positives generally revolved around United being able to give young players the chance to impress.
Tahith Chong, Axel Tuanzebe, Angel Gomes, Brandon Williams, James Garner, Largie Ramazani, Ethan Galbraith, D'Mani Mellor, Dylan Levitt, Ethan Laird and Di'Shon Bernard all got opportunities to play in that group stage, with many of them making their debuts.
Granted, a scan of that list doesn't show many players who've gone on to become regulars at United – a few remain at the club but are either down the pecking order or unlikely to have long-term futures, while Garner recently joined Everton and Gomes and Ramazani are impressing elsewhere in Europe.
United allowed a lot of players to leave the club on permanent deals and loans in the most recent transfer window, so there is every reason to expect any youngsters given chances in the group may not be familiar faces.
Ahead of Thursday's group opener against Real Sociedad, Stats Perform takes a look at the young talents who might emerge for United over the next few months.
On the fringes
United fans will hope the Europa League final provides them with an opportunity to see Facundo Pellistri in action. The Uruguayan winger joined the club nearly two years ago but hasn't played a single minute of competitive action, and neither of his loan spells at Deportivo Alaves were particularly impressive.
He caught the eye in pre-season last year but was still shipped out – he made a couple of appearances this time around before suffering an injury, which also ended any plans for another loan spell.
But if there's any South American winger likely to stake his claim for more first-team minutes, it's Alejandro Garnacho. The 18-year-old has already played for the senior side, including once this term, and has been a regular among the substitutes for Erik ten Hag.
An explosive, direct winger, Garnacho appears to be one of the most talented players to come through at United in recent years.
Such statements had been reserved for Shola Shoretire until fairly recently. The gifted – albeit diminutive – forward became United's youngest ever player in European competition (17 years, 23 days) when appearing against Thursday's opposition in February 2021, so he still has time on his side, but he hasn't really kicked on since in terms of collecting first-team minutes.
Having said that, United reportedly shelved plans for him to go on loan just before the transfer window closed, with Ten Hag apparently keen to keep him around until January – perhaps an opportunity or two is around the corner?
Out to make a name
It's fair to say United have a lot of promising talent coming through at the moment. Among those yet to play for the senior side, Kobbie Mainoo looks the biggest prospect of them all.
Only 17, Mainoo is an elegant playmaker who possesses exceptional technical attributes – he ran the show as United's Under-21s beat Carlisle United's first-team 2-1 in the EFL Trophy last week and has been training with Ten Hag's main squad ahead of Thursday's match.
Mainoo's by no means the only midfielder exciting people at Old Trafford, though. Isak Hansen-Aaroen courted attention in pre-season when a pre-match photo showing his impressive tattoo collection went viral on social media – at the time he was 17, though there is no 18-plus restriction on body art in his native Norway.
Unbeknownst to many of those sharing the photo, Hansen-Aaroen is an extremely gifted and versatile player capable of featuring in midfield and attack. He's quick, a wonderful dribbler, creative and difficult to knock off the ball. He's clearly already got Ten Hag's attention as he featured briefly against Rayo Vallecano in pre-season – a competitive debut certainly isn't out of the question this season.
Former Manchester City youngster Charlie McNeill is another who has been training with the seniors this week. Something of a goal machine at youth level, the 18-year-old is a well-rounded striker who works hard and possesses strong associative attributes. Given Anthony Martial's continued absence, McNeill could be an understudy to Cristiano Ronaldo in Europe over the next few weeks.
Charlie Savage, son of former Wales international Robbie Savage, made his first-team debut under Ralf Rangnick last season – as did Zidane Iqbal. The two midfielders both have plenty of potential, with the former possessing some of the bite his dad was renowned for, and each will be hopeful of kicking on after a brief introduction to senior football in 2021-22.
Yamal could miss La Real trip, says Barca boss Flick
Lamine Yamal may not be fit to feature for Barcelona against Real Sociedad in Sunday's LaLiga clash, says head coach Hansi Flick.
Yamal has been training alone in an attempt to recover after a hectic schedule for the Blaugrana.
Pau Cubarsi is in contention, however, after suffering a facial injury in Wednesday's 5-2 Champions League win at Red Star Belgrade.
Cubarsi participated in a full training session with the team, though 17-year-old Yamal was not present.
"Lamine was inside and he did specific strength training. He has had a lot of matches in the last few weeks so we took care of him and let him [train separately] indoors. We will see what his situation is tomorrow," Flick told reporters on Saturday.
Flick heaped praise on Robert Lewandowski, who has scored 19 goals in 16 appearances across all competitions.
"He is in very good shape. I am also impressed with how he helps the defence. For me, there are no thoughts about giving him a rest," he added.
"Dani [Olmo] felt a little bit unwell at night but this morning he is doing better, so with him just treatments and medicine, I think he is ready for tomorrow against Sociedad."
La Real have fared better on the road, collecting 11 of their 15 points away and losing four of their six home matches, with their only victory in front of their own fans coming against lowly Valencia.
Barcelona, on 33 points from 12 matches, are six points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who have 27 from 12 games.
Van Nistelrooy keen to return to Man Utd assistant role under Amorim
Ruud van Nistelrooy is keen to become Manchester United manager one day but says he wants to return to his role as assistant coach under new boss Ruben Amorim.
Having returned to Old Trafford as one of Erik ten Hag’s assistants in the summer, he has stepped up as caretaker head coach since his compatriot was sacked last month.
Van Nistelrooy has overseen victories over Leicester City in the EFL Cup and PAOK in the Europa League, drawing his other game against Chelsea in the Premier League.
The Foxes are the visitors once again to Old Trafford in the Dutchman's final game in charge on Sunday before Amorim takes the reins the following day.
Asked if he would like to manage the team he scored 150 goals for during his playing days, Van Nistelrooy said: "Yeah, of course.
"I thought this through well when I made the decision to come to United as an assistant manager or assistant coach," Van Nistelrooy said.
"I knew that coming to Manchester United was for me a special occasion, where I felt I wanted to be part of this journey with the club in also an assistant role.
"I had clear ambitions to manage. I made the decision to sign a two-year deal as an assistant, and I'm still in that frame of mind to stay in that capacity."
The 48-year-old does have managerial experience, too. He was previously the manager of PSV Eindhoven, winning the Dutch Cup in his only season in charge.
During his short tenure in the Netherlands, he won 34 of his 50 games in charge (D8 L8), scoring 126 goals and ending with a win percentage of 66.67%.
Van Nistelrooy is under contract with United until 2026, but question marks have been raised over his future with Amorim set to bring in his own staff.
But he insisted that this weekend's sole focus is on ensuring that United are in the best possible shape for Amorim's impending arrival at Old Trafford.
"I called it an important period because I think it was important to get through the four games as good as we could," said Van Nistelrooy.
"I think we've done very well so far. The players have reacted very well in the games.
"The focus now is to build on that and show that on Sunday, with a big game ahead and a massive three points that are there to win.
"I don't know if it will be very emotional. I take it very pragmatically as well, although I am proud to be able to fulfil this. We'll see how I feel on Sunday."
And while this may be Van Nistelrooy's second Old Trafford farewell, he has reason to be confident of ending his latest Red Devils stint on a high.
United have lost just two of their last 17 Premier League games against Leicester (W10 D5), with those defeats coming consecutively in May and October 2021.
Van Nistelrooy keen to return Man Utd assistant role under Amorim
Ruud van Nistelrooy is keen to become Manchester United manager one day but says he wants to return to his role as assistant coach under new boss Ruben Amorim.
Having returned to Old Trafford as one of Erik ten Hag’s assistants in the summer, he has stepped up as caretaker head coach since his compatriot was sacked last month.
Van Nistelrooy has overseen victories over Leicester City in the EFL Cup and PAOK in the Europa League, drawing his other game against Chelsea in the Premier League.
The Foxes are the visitors once again to Old Trafford in the Dutchman's final game in charge on Sunday before Amorim takes the reins the following day.
Asked if he would like to manage the team he scored 150 goals for during his playing days, Van Nistelrooy said: "Yeah, of course.
"I thought this through well when I made the decision to come to United as an assistant manager or assistant coach," Van Nistelrooy said.
"I knew that coming to Manchester United was for me a special occasion, where I felt I wanted to be part of this journey with the club in also an assistant role.
"I had clear ambitions to manage. I made the decision to sign a two-year deal as an assistant, and I'm still in that frame of mind to stay in that capacity."
The 48-year-old does have managerial experience, too. He was previously the manager of PSV Eindhoven, winning the Dutch Cup in his only season in charge.
During his short tenure in the Netherlands, he won 34 of his 50 games in charge (D8 L8), scoring 126 goals and ending with a win percentage of 66.67%.
Van Nistelrooy is under contract with United until 2026, but question marks have been raised over his future with Amorim set to bring in his own staff.
But he insisted that this weekend's sole focus is on ensuring that United are in the best possible shape for Amorim's impending arrival at Old Trafford.
"I called it an important period because I think it was important to get through the four games as good as we could," said Van Nistelrooy.
"I think we've done very well so far. The players have reacted very well in the games.
"The focus now is to build on that and show that on Sunday, with a big game ahead and a massive three points that are there to win.
"I don't know if it will be very emotional. I take it very pragmatically as well, although I am proud to be able to fulfil this. We'll see how I feel on Sunday."
And while this may be Van Nistelrooy's second Old Trafford farewell, he has reason to be confident of ending his latest Red Devils stint on a high.
United have lost just two of their last 17 Premier League games against Leicester (W10 D5), with those defeats coming consecutively in May and October 2021.
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