Jose Mourinho believes his former club Tottenham Hotspur are joint favourites to win this season’s Europa League with another of his former clubs, Manchester United.
The legendary Portuguese boss is now in charge of Turkish giants Fenerbahce and he is leading the club’s charge in the Europa League.
It is in that capacity that he will lock horns with Manchester United in the Europa League in Istanbul on Thursday evening.
Mourinho has kept a close eye on how Manchester United have done since he left and feels they, along with Tottenham are favourites to lift the Europa League trophy.
He does not feel they have done badly as he believes all teams are trying to work out the new set-up of the tournament.
“Manchester United didn’t win in Europe but they didn’t lose either. Everyone is trying to understand the new format”, the Portuguese told a press conference when asked about Manchester United.
“It’s not easy to play away against Porto. We played against Twente too. Everyone expects them to win at Old Trafford.
“Manchester United has a lot of potential. Two draws won’t make them favourites but it won’t affect them badly either.
“Even if they lose four out of eight games, they can easily advance to the next round with 12 points by winning the remaining four games.
“I can say that Manchester United and Tottenham are favourites in this tournament.
“Because the Premier League is very different and we will play with one of the strongest candidates.”
Mourinho has continued his record of winning trophies since he was sacked by Tottenham and Fenerbahce are looking for the Portuguese to deliver silverware this year.
Fenerbahce are just fourth in the Turkish Super Lig after eight games.
