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Two of the biggest clubs in Great Britain meet today as Manchester United host Rangers in the Europa League at Old Trafford.
This week marks the penultimate round of league-phase fixtures in all of three Europe's club competitions and places in the knockouts are on offer.
United and Rangers both occupy a top-eight place in the Europa League and will move within touching distance of a place in the last 16 with victory today.
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Manchester United's most recent match, on Sunday, was yet another defeat on their home patch at Old Trafford, going down 3-1 against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Yankuba Minteh scored just five minutes in, and though Bruno Fernandes levelled with the side's only shot on target of the day from the penalty spot, Brighton pulled clear in the second half thanks to goals from Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter.
The hugely disappointing performance led Ruben Amorim to blast them as ‘maybe the worst team in the history of Manchester United’, an excoriating rant which Andy Mitten analysed here.
Here, Carl Anka outlines the bad news (spoiler: there's a lot).
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The Athletic explains below why Manchester United, one of the sport's biggest clubs, have a cash problem as they attempt to strike deals for new manager Ruben Amorim in January.
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Previewing Rangers Europa League clash
On the latest episode of our Manchester United podcast Talk of the Devils, the team remember United great Denis Law after his passing last week. How this current team could do with a centre forward, a goalscorer, an all-round footballer of Denis's ability.
After Brighton won at Old Trafford again, Ruben Amorim called his side the worst in United's history. A joke, perhaps, but we're not laughing. And next up is a Europa League clash with a Rangers team who seem to save their best for this competition.
Listen in via your preferred podcast platform here, and get tickets for the live show at Leicester Square via the link below!
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Because nothing says 'we're the hardest fans around' like setting off flares at a tram stop outside Primark in the mid-afternoon.
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Subscribers can do all the above, and more, via the above link.
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And speaking of Manchester United's previous meetings with Rangers, let's look back to their most recent clash, in the Champions League back on November 24, 2010.
Wayne Rooney's 87th-minute penalty sparked wild celebrations (see above) as it secured an invaluable three points for United and sent them into the last 16 of the competition, while Walter Smith's Rangers were consigned to the Europa League.
That came two months after the Scottish side had held United to a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford in the reverse fixture, to this day the only time Rangers have avoided defeat against United in a competitive fixture.
Today, they meet in that lesser competition.
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An interesting fact thrown up ahead of the match is that Manchester United have played Rangers four times in competitive matches and have never conceded against them.
Three wins, and a 0-0 draw.
Not bad going.
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Good afternoon everyone!
It's a great afternoon for this crew, Rangers supporters at Manchester Piccadilly station on their way to see the match.
Wonder if they will be in as sunny a mood at full time…
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There was one Europa League match yesterday and there will have been some Manchester United fans keeping an eye on it.
Besiktas, being managed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for the first time, picked up a huge win. They were emphatic 4-1 winners against the team starting the day second in the Europa League, Athletic Club of La Liga.
Milot Rashica, once of Norwich City, netted twice for the Turkish side as they moved into the play-off positions.
It's European week and it's Thursday so that only means one thing: lots of Europa League action – here are the 16 matches on the way today.
5:45pm GMT
8pm GMT
Old Trafford, Greater Manchester
It hasn't quite been the 'Theatre of Dreams' for Manchester United supporters of late. And by 'of late', I mean since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
The fact they are playing in the Europa League this evening shows how far standards have slipped in this part of Manchester over the last decade or so.
But a deep run in Europe would surely go some way to repairing an ever-deteriorating relationship between the club and fans.
Rangers will be backed by several thousand of their supporters today and they will be making a real racket.
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If you're a sports fan, then there is no better place to follow all your favourite teams, leagues and players than on The Athletic.
On this side of the pond, the Premier League and Champions League campaigns are both well underway while those of you in the States will be well aware that the NFL season is reaching its business end ahead of the Super Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana in a couple of weeks' time.
We're covering all of that and so much more, so make sure to get involved.
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Here are the ways you can tune into today's match, depending on where you are based:
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This is one the eight Europa League games today in the later kick-off slot of 8pm (GMT).
For those of you in the States, that is 3pm (ET) on the east coast and 12pm (PT) on the west.
Hello and welcome along to The Athletic for today's all-British battle between Manchester United and Rangers. Two of the biggest clubs from these shores meet at Old Trafford in the Europa League and we are covering every kick of the action.
Neither team have performed as they would have liked domestically so far this term, but this European campaign provides a genuine chance of silverware.
United and Rangers have both done reasonably well in the Europa League this season and know that victory this evening would put them on the verge of a place in the last 16.
It's a big game tonight, so stick with us as we build up to it over the next few hours.
