Man Utd quartet among top-10 best rated players left in Europa League

The 2019/20 Europa League campaign has been on pause for the last five months but it finally resumes on Wednesday evening at the round of 16 stage.

Despite a number of big casualties in the last 32, there are still a number of European heavyweights left with Manchester United, Inter and Sevilla among the favourites to win the competition.

Sevilla have pedigree in this competition, having won it three times in the past six years but it is United who lifted the trophy most recently, having done so under Jose Mourinho in 2017. Now with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the wheel, United are in an even better position to win the Europa League than they were three years ago.

Having already secured Champions League football for next season through their Premier League placing, the pressure is off heading into their round of 16 second leg tie with LASK, against whom they lead 5-0 from their meeting back in March.

So much has happened since the last Europa League games that it is understandably easy to forget what has actually happened in the competition so far. Who is still in it and what players were doing well? We have already gone through the first question and now it's time to take a trip down memory lane for point two.

Rather than reflect on players no longer in the Europa League, we will instead run through the top 10 best rated players still in the competition. Perhaps unsurprisingly, United feature most prominently.

10. Harry Maguire (Manchester United) – 7.46 rating

Harry Maguire has started six games in the Europa League this season and United have kept a clean sheet in five of them. While you sense there is still more to come from the United captain, his presence at the back has certainly been felt at Old Trafford.

9. Filip Kostic (Frankfurt) – 7.47 rating

Filip Kostic has played a direct hand in five goals (two goals, three assists) in nine appearances and picked up the WhoScored Man of the Match award on two occasions. Moreover, his return of 3.9 key passes per game is the most in the competition this season, while no player has created more clear-cut goal scoring opportunities than the 27-year-old (7).

8. Paulo Otavio (Wolfsburg) – 7.48 rating

Paulo Otavio is not available for Wolfsburg for the return leg of their tie with Shakhtar Donetsk and will be a big miss at left-back for the Bundesliga outfit. Otavio has registered one assist and scored one goal in four appearances in the competition this season and ranks sixth for most tackles per game (3.8).

7. Adama Traore (Wolves) – 7.48 rating

Adama Traore is still available for Wolves despite dislocating his shoulder on a number of occasions this season, with surgery delayed until after their Europa League campaign is done and dusted. Traore has two goals in eight Europa League appearances this season and averages more dribbles per game (5.3) than any other player in the competition.

6. Scott McTominay (Manchester United) – 7.53 rating

After barely featuring for Manchester United after the restart, Scott McTominay is expected to return to the starting XI for Wednesday’s second leg meeting with LASK. McTominay has one goal in five Europa League appearances this season, while averaging 1.4 tackles and 2.2 interceptions per game. The 23-year-old has completed six of his seven attempted dribbles and has been fouled 2.2 times per game.

5. Nicolo Zaniolo (Roma) – 7.53 rating

Had it not been for the enforced break, Nicolo Zaniolo would have missed Roma’s Europa League campaign due to a serious knee injury sustained in January. He is, however, available again and will hope to pick up where he left off in the competition. The 21-year-old has two goals and as many assists in six appearances and ranks second in the competition for dribbles per game (4.2) at an impressive success rate of 75.8%.

4. Alfredo Morelos (Rangers) – 7.53 rating

Alfredo Morelos doesn’t have many games for Rangers left with a move to Lille gathering pace. The Colombia international has helped inspire Rangers’ run to the last 16 of the Europa League with six goals. In fact, Morelos is the competition’s joint-top scorer this season and no player has converted more clear-cut chances than the 24-year-old (5). Moreover, the Rangers’ frontman has attempted the most shots (29) and has hit the target at least seven more times than any other player (21).

3. Fred (Manchester United) – 7.56 rating

Like Scott McTominay, Fred is expected back in the starting XI for Manchester United in midweek after a spell out of the team. The Brazil international went through the entire Premier League campaign (29 appearances) without a single goal or assist but has two goals and four assists in six appearances in the Europa League this season. Fred also has a pass success rate of 90.4%.

2. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) – 8.12 rating

Bruno Fernandes’ rating reflects his performances in the Europa League for both Sporting CP and Manchester United, having moved to the latter in January. The Portugual international has remarkably played a direct hand in 10 goals in eight appearances in the Europa League this season, more than any other player in the competition.

1. Munir (Sevilla) – 8.30 rating

Completing the top-10 is former Barcelona academy graduate and current Sevilla forward Munir. The 24-year-old has struggled for regular playing time this season but has excelled in the Europa League for the Spanish side with five goals in as many appearances. In fact, Munir is one of only five players to score a hat-trick in the Europa League this season and one of just five players to garner a perfect 10 rating in a single game. Moreover, Munir is second in the competition for most shots per game (4).