Preview: English football giants Manchester United on Monday held their training session without midfielders Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera and defenders Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind on the eve of the Champions League game against Sevilla.

Man United is set to host Sevilla on Tuesday at Old Trafford stadium in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16, after the first leg ended with a goalless draw, reports Efe.

Marcus Rashford starts for Manchester United against Sevilla. Reuters

Marcus Rashford starts for Manchester United against Sevilla. Reuters

None of the five players were present in Saturday's 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the English Premier League (EPL), so their presence in the second leg clash appeared to be in doubt.

The two midfielders Angel Gomes and Ethan Hamilton were also not included in the training session.

Forwards Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Anthony Martial returned to the group workout, having recovered from their injuries.

Ibrahimovic, 36, has not appeared with his side since December 26 after returning from a knee injury that kept him out for months.

Martial exercised normally with his teammates after having missed Manchester United's last two wins against Liverpool and Crystal Palace.

Manchester United is now second in the EPL standings, while Sevilla holds the fifth position in the La Liga table.

Over 2,000 Sevilla fans fill Old Trafford with dreams of qualifying

The stands of Old Trafford stadium on Tuesday were abuzz with around 2,200 Sevilla fans, fervently hoping for an away win in the second leg game against English football giants Manchester United in the Champions League round-of-16.

A Sevilla victory would mean qualifying for the quarterfinals for the first time in six decades, and the historic chance has drawn the largest crowd of Sevilla fans so far to attend an away match in the Champions League knockout stage, reports Efe.

Emotions were running high after the first leg ended in a goalless draw, with a mixture of both fear and hope despite facing one of the toughest teams in European soccer.

The official Sevilla expedition arrived in Manchester on Monday with the first group of 100 fans, who have steadily increasing with the arrival of more groups.

The Andalusian supporters are looking forward to the clash with Man United, pushing aside the memory of three recent unsuccessful attempts to reach the Champions League quarterfinals.

The last time Sevilla played in the quartersfinals of the European tournament was in the 1957-58 season, after defeating Danish side AGF Aarhus in the round of 16.

With inputs from IANS


Published Date: Mar 14, 2018 01:05 AM | Updated Date: Mar 14, 2018 01:16 AM