Belgium manager Roberto Martinez is down pitchside as one of the BT pundits tonight - and is asked about Youri Tielemans

"He is a real playmaker," the Spaniard says.

"It's on occasions like this that we'll see his best. He has the personality to be one of Belgium's greats. 

"Can he play in the Premier League? Without a doubt. Clearly he needs to move from Belgium but he must now be careful. He has to go somewhere where he can carry on playing." 

It's not why they got him, but in Jose Mourinho Manchester United have a man with Europa League (or Uefa Cup) pedigree.

He won it in 2003 with FC Porto, beating Celtic 3-2 in a heated final that spilled into extra-time. 

In response to then-Celtic boss Martin O'Neill's claims of "bad sportsmanship", the Portuguese served up an early dose of vintage Jose.

"There was a lot of commitment in Celtic's game, commitment, toughness and aggression. I'm tempted to use another word - but I won't."  

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How did Anderlecht get here?

They made it out of the group stage despite drawing away and losing at home to Saint-Etienne - who Manchester United smashed 4-0 on aggregate in the round of 32. 

To reach the last eight they've beaten Zenit St Petersburg and Apoel Nicosia. 

Will this be a step too far for the Belgian league leaders?

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Jose Mourinho talks a good game, but there's no doubt he'll already be thinking about Sunday - when his old side Chelsea come to Old Trafford.

However, win the Europa League this year and Manchester United make the Champions League next season - regardless of where they finish in the league. 

And of course, they're already assured of at least a Europa League place after winning the EFL Cup. So there's that...

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Manchester United

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho, speaking to BT Sport: "There is a special feeling because this is the only competition we can win. There is obviously no chance to win the Premier League. But we share our motivations and our ambitions with seven other teams. 

"Anderlecht is the first battle. Yes, I am trying to share with the players that this is a difficult opponent. We have travelled all around Europe to be here. Now let's push."

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Manchester United's injured defender Chris Smalling will presumably be watching from back in the UK. Along with Wayne Rooney, who again wasn't deemed fit enough. 

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Constant Vanden Stock Stadium is the scene.

Anderlecht's home since 1917, rebuilt in 1983, can fit 21,845 for European games - a reduced capacity.

Security has been tightened following Tuesday's bomb attack on the Borussia Dortmund team bus, and no bags are allowed in the ground tonight.

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Richard Clayton: Pogba handled himself very well in the press conference. You can see his desire to succeed and with his mentality, it's only a matter of time. 

This might not be how they'd planned spending their Thursday nights but Manchester United are four matches away from a European final.  

The other 20:05 BST Europa League quarter-finals are: 

Celta Vigo v Genk

Ajax v Schalke

Lyon v Besiktas

PA's reporter in Brussels has spotted the trophy...

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"We can forget about the transfer fee. It's in the past," Pogba said in the build-up to this game.

"Obviously I want to do better, you can always do better. But I can say I am doing good, the team is doing good and we are looking forward as well to win the Europa League. 

"People are looking me saying 'Pogba should score goals', 'Pogba should do this' - I think you are putting me like as a striker, defender and midfielder. 

"I just have to do my job: my job is to make the game. If I was scoring the goals that hit the crossbar, I don't think people would speak like this. But it's football and we just enjoy it, we love it. It's fine."

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It'll be intriguing to see how Youri Tielemans gets on with Paul Pogba about tonight.

"They're envious. They need every coin to survive", is what Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho said about Pogba's critics last month. 

That might well be true, but there's nonetheless a feeling the Frenchman hasn't quite lit the touchpaper as we thought he might. 

Since his world record transfer from Juventus last summer, the 24-year-old's hit seven goals and provided five assists. 

He's also - and I hadn't realised this before today - hit the woodwork nine times. 

Not a classic football nickname...

Who are Anderlecht? You mean Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht. Please. 

They've won the Belgian league 33 times - the most in its history - and the Belgian Cup nine times. 

They won the European Cup Winners' Cup - you might not remember that if you were born in the 1990s - in 1976 and 1978. Plus the Uefa Cup in 1983. 

Their opponents for the '76 final were West Ham, who they beat 4-2 in Brussels, conveniently enough.

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The computer game reference is, of course to Manchester United: Europe. The 1991 Amiga classic. I say classic...

Sometimes you could get to a rebound off the keeper and bundle one in, but otherwise it was practically impossible (for me) to score a goal. 

I don't think I ever made it past Dukla Prague. 

You might have heard of Youri Tielemans. Anderlecht's 19-year-old captain and midfielder is already into his fourth full season at senior level. 

He's what you'd call a proper academy product. Having joined the club aged just five years old, he made his first-team debut in July 2013 at 16. He hasn't looked back since. 

Now a full Belgium international, with two caps, this season has been his most productive yet - he's scored 18 goals and provided 11 assists from 43 games so far. 

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The teams are in already. 

Manchester United make three changes from the side that beat Sunderland 3-0 on Sunday. 

Michael Carrick,Antonio Valencia and Marcus Rashford come in for Luke Shaw, Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera. 

Man Utd XI: Romero, Valencia, Bailly, Rojo, Darmian, Carrick, Pogba, Mkhitaryan, Lingard, Rashford, Ibrahimovic. 

Subs: de Gea, Martial, Blind, Ander Herrera, Shaw, Fosu-Mensah, Fellaini.

Anderlecht make seven changes from the team that drew 0-0 with Gent on Sunday. Among those dropping out is Lukasz Teodorczyk - the club's top scorer is only fit enough for the bench. 

Anderlecht XI: Ruben Martinez, Appiah, Mbodji, Nuytinck, Obradovic, Bruno, Tielemans, Dendoncker, Stanciu, Acheampong, Thelin. 

Subs: Boeckx, Deschacht, Spajic, Chipciu, Diego Capel, Teodorczyk, Hanni.

As you might have worked out, this is a repeat of Manchester United's first ever competitive European match.

They met Anderlecht in Brussels in 1956 in the first round of the European Cup, winning 2-0, before hammering the Belgians 10-0 in the second leg at Maine Road. Old Trafford apparently still didn't have floodlights for evening games back in the day.

I don't want to spoil it for you, but United were knocked out by a Spanish team in the semi-finals who went on to win it. Think you can guess who...

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Manchester United in Europe. They even made a computer game out of it. 

The pioneers of 1956-57, the tragedy of Munich, those two injury-time miracles in Barcelona. 

Tonight, we're headed back where it all began.

To Brussels.

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