LLORENTE STILL BELIEVES

Athletic Bilbao player Fernando Llorente has said that even though Manchester United are the favourites due to the presence of players like Wayne Rooney, his club do have a chance but it comes to qualify for the next stage of the Europa league.

Manchester United will be facing Spanish club Athletic Bilbao in the last 16 of the Europa league knowing that they are one of the favourites not only to progress to the next round, but also to win the tournament as well.

However, this is not a problem for their star player Fernando Llorente, who has said that Athletic Bilbao do have every chance of making it into the next round.

Wayne Rooney returned to the Manchester United first-team during the weekend match with Tottenham. It was a match that was highly important for Manchester United, but Sir Alex Ferguson's side managed to come out on the right side of a 3-1 scoreline.

This now means that Manchester United can realistically say that they have brought an end to the title hopes of Tottenham. This also means that there is only a two horse race for the title in England. Athletic Bilbao do not have a chance of winning the title in Spain, but they do have the chance to finish in the Champions league position.

"Manchester are obviously the favourites. They always play Champions League and compete with teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid. They are one of the big teams in Europe and we're novices. Rooney is a real killer. He has a great mentality and is a great inspiration for his team-mates. I expect a very exciting game. We are really looking forward to the game," Llorente said to EP. Athletic Bilbao are currently in the fifth position in the table, while a fourth place finish will guarantee them Champions League qualification.

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