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Rory from Ireland asked: Manchester United and Spurs both hope to reach the Champions League by winning the Europa League, but are they ready?
Pat answered: Both United and Spurs are having awful seasons compared to what they would have expected and both are relying on the Europa League to give them some succour. I would love to say that they are in their poor league positions, 13th and 14th respectively, because they have decided to concentrate on the one trophy they both can still win, but it clearly isn't the case. They simply haven't been good enough domestically.
If either does win the Europa League and 'sneaks' into the Champions League via that route then I have no problem. As they say, "dems da rules". And you just have to use them to your advantage.
Will either team be ready was the question. The answer is, that depends, ready for what? Ready to win it? Absolutely not, both look miles away from that possibility, even if qualifying would allow them to speed up the rebuild if you are United or provide additional squad depth in Spurs' case.
If the question is more about surviving in the Champions League for a decent amount of time, well yes, both could. When you are involved in the new League style, there is every chance of getting a decent draw and there are teams in there that are not from the absolute elite level.
In a one-off game with a fair wind could United or Spurs beat the likes of Brugge, Brest, Bern's Young Boys, Bologna, Benfica or Bratislava? Yes of course they could, and that is only the teams beginning with a B (well, kind of beginning with B).
There are plenty of teams that will make it into the Europa Conference League that are highly unlikely to win it.
I am convinced neither of those two would embarrass themselves but then again I expect both those teams to be far better next season than they have been this time round.
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