Big guns eye progress

The Europa League, poor relation of the Champions League financial behemoth, affords some of the continent’s small fry the chance to enjoy a quick slice of fame, especially if they can squeeze through this week’s play-off round returns.

Yet the gulf between the participating clubs is huge and, in financial terms, nobody can talk of a level playing field.

While the likes of Welsh league outfit The New Saints can dream of mixing it with millionaires they would normally only see playing on television while sat in their own armchairs, for the larger clubs the tournament is almost an unwanted distraction.

For money-no-object Manchester City, who have been bankrolled to the tune of a reported €350 million since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan took over in August 2008, the event distracts from two main aims: to win the English Premier League and, perhaps as a first step to that end, to secure qualification to the real cash cow of the Champions League, having just missed out last season.

Today’s hosting of Romanian side FC Timisoara is therefore a mere hors d’oeuvre before the main courses to come, a sideshow to whet the appetite of fringe players in a super-sized squad.

“The club has changed ridiculously, I’m just glad to be a part of it,” defender Micah Richards admitted on City’s website as he contemplated the battle for places.

Add to that the fact City already lead thanks to Mario Balotelli’s debut goal in the away leg and it is fair to assume their supporters will have preferred to spend their money on Monday’s 3-0 thumping of Liverpool.

Then again, some sides see any kind of European football as a bonus – and after being outclassed at the City of Manchester Stadium, Liverpool might quietly agree after a 3-0 defeat suggested that getting back into the Champions League may prove beyond them once again this season.

Five long years after the Reds’ memorable European Cup triumph in Istanbul, Roy Hodgson’s side head for Turkey today seeking to preserve a 1-0 lead over Trabzonspor – while Javier Mascherano strives to complete his transfer to Barcelona so he can partake of the Champions League instead.

Liverpool’s hopes suffered a blow yesterday when captain Steven Gerrard and striker Fernando Torres were ruled out of today’s clash.

Gerrard has a back problem and Hodgson does not want to risk Torres in a third successive game after his injury problems last season.

Aston Villa, European champions in 1982, are another side having to clutch at the Europa League straw as they try to build on a 1-1 draw away to Rapid Vienna.

The Midlands side have long entertained hopes of gatecrashing the Premier League’s top four but this season already Martin O’Neill has resigned as coach while midfielder James Milner has accepted the Manchester City petrodollar.

Last Sunday then brought a 6-0 defeat at Newcastle and the Champions League dream seems set to be a forlorn hope once more.

Scottish sides have long since become used to dining at the European game’s lower table but will hope for safety in numbers today as Celtic face Dutch side Utrecht 2-0 up from the home leg.

The two other Scottish sides have work to do, however, as Dundee United lost 1-0 at home to Greek side AEK Athens and Motherwell must overcome a 2-1 away deficit against the Danes of Denmark.

Bayer Leverkusen have a 3-0 cushion against Ukraine’s Simferopol but they will be without Michael Ballack for today’s second leg tie.

The 33-year-old midfielder has stayed in Germany to work on his fitness ahead of Sunday’s Bundesliga game against Borussia Moncheng­ladbach, the club said.

Juventus, who like Leverkusen, Liverpool and Villa have seen more illustrious days, should complete the job against Sturm Graz leading 2-1 from the away leg.

Play-off round, second legs

AEK Athens vs Dundee United (1-0); Aktobe vs AZ Alkmaar (0- 2); APOEL Nicosia vs Getafe (0-1); Aston Villa vs Rapid Vienna (1-1); Austria Vienna vs Aris Salonika ­(0-1); Brondby vs Sporting Lisbon (2-0); Maritimo vs BATE Borisov (0-3); Dinamo Minsk vs Club Brugge (1-2); Dinamo Zagreb vs Gyori (0-0); Dnepr Mogilev vs Villarreal (0-5); Elfsborg vs Napoli (0-1); Fenerbahce vs PAOK Salonika (0-1); Gent vs Feyenoord (0-1); Grasshoppers vs Steaua Bucharest (0-1); HJK Helsinki vs Besiktas (0-2); Juventus vs Sturm Graz (2-1);

Karpaty Lviv vs Galatasaray (2-2); Lech Poznan vs Dnipro (1-0); Levski Sofia vs AIK Solna (0-0); Lille vs SC Vaslui (0-0); Litex Lovech vs Debrecen (0-2); Lok. Moscow vs Lausanne (1-1); ­Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Paris SG (0-2); Manchester City vs Timisoara (1-0); Maribor vs Palermo (0-3); ­Metalist Kharkiv vs AC Omonia (1-0); Motherwell vs Odense (1-2); Porto vs Genk (3-0); Qarabag vs B. Dortmund (0-4);

PSV vs Sibir Novosibirsk (0-1); Stuttgart vs Slovan Bratislava (1-0); Simferopol vs Bayer Leverkusen (0-3); TNS vs CSKA Sofia (0-3); ­Trabzonspor vs Liverpool (0-1); Unirea Urziceni vs Hajduk Split (1-4); Utrecht vs Celtic ­(0-2).