Manchester United are languishing in a lowly 12th place in the Premier League table - 12 points off the top four.

Qualification from the league for the Champions League is an unlikely route to the tournament they have won three times in 1968, 1999 and 2008.

Since the 2014-15 campaign, the Europa League winners have had an extra incentive as well as the trophy: automatic qualification for the Champions League proper.

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In the 2016-17 season, United finished sixth in the Premier League but qualified for the Champions League by winning the Europa League final against Ajax

Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored either side of half-time in a 2-0 victory with the final held two days after the Manchester Arena bombing.

Current United players goalkeeper Andre Onana and centre-back Matthijs de Ligt started for Ajax that night, while Donny van de Beek came off the bench.

United similarly qualified for the Europa League last year when they won the FA Cup, beating noisy neighbours Man City 2-1 in the showpiece final.

Eighth was United’s lowest league finish since 1990, but winning at Wembley meant they avoided missing out on Europe altogether.

United finished third in the league phase of the Europa League and they are the favourites to win the competition.

It is their only feasible way of being in the Champions League next season. It is their Champions League lifeline.

Under-fire Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur - struggling domestically with 13 defeats in 23 in the Premier League this season - finished in fourth and are second favourites.

Could it be an all-English final this year, just as it was in the 2018-19 season when Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1 in Baku in Azerbaijan?

United would be favourites with Spurs trophyless since 2008, but they will hope to avoid the complication of playing an English team in the final.

Regardless, despite their struggles in the Premier League, there is a clear path for United back into the Champions League where they feel they belong.