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South American talents at Man United and Arsenal, the Rennes forward with insane speed, Jurrien Timber's twin brother and a 16-year-old in Braga's squad... Meet the wonderkids hoping to light up the Europa League

The Europa League group stage gets underway on Thursday night with plenty of prominent continental teams involved.

Arsenal and Manchester United are flying the flag for the Premier League and start the competition as favourites to go all the way and lift the trophy in Budapest on May 31.

But they will be challenged by the likes of Roma, Lazio, Monaco, Real Sociedad, Real Betis and whoever drops down from the Champions League after the group phase.

Eintracht Frankfurt won the UEFA Europa League last season, beating Rangers on penalties

Eintracht Frankfurt won the UEFA Europa League last season, beating Rangers on penalties

With fixture schedules growing ever more intense, the Europa League has become a proving ground for young talents, who can get important minutes on the pitch to demonstrate what they can do as managers rest key players.