Thanks to football’s COVID-19 enforced break, the 2019/20 Europa League has been going on for an eternity.

It’s been so endless, the draw for the qualifying stages of next season’s competition is has already taken place. Wolves’ run to the quarter-finals started more than a year ago.

Before we find out who will come out on top when the mighty Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar take on the even mightier Prishtina of Kosovo, the winners of the current competition need to be crowned.

Everything is set to be decided in a mini, World Cup style tournament in Germany next week and 90min has had a go at predicting how everything is going to turn out.

Kicking off proceedings on Monday is Manchester United vs Copenhagen in Cologne. This reeks of a 2009 Champions League group stage tie but with both clubs’ stock falling considerably in recent times, they’ll have to settle for a meeting in Europe’s second-rate club competition.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side will be desperate to win the competition and are likely to pull out all the stops against the Danish giants. It won’t be an easy task but a full strength Red Devils side should find a way to progress.

Next up, it’s the tie of the round – Inter vs Bayer Leverkusen. Two sides teeming with attacking talent, although you get the feeling this will be the best chance Peter Bosz’s side get to lift some European silverware in some time, with Kai Havertz’s exit looming. It’s going to be tight but after ending the Serie A season in flying form, Antonio Conte’s side are favourites.

From the standout game of the quarter-finals to the ugly duckling, Shakhtar Donetsk vs Basel is unlikely to attract much of a television audience outside of Ukraine and Switzerland. Shakhtar once again won their domestic league at a canter this season while their opponents faltered, eventually finishing third.

As well as leading the form table, the Ukrainian side also have a far superior squad and should dispatch of FCB fairly comfortably. You never know with one-off games though.

Finally, Wolves – who started their Europa League campaign against Belfast-based Crusaders over a year ago – face the tough task of a game against competition specialists Sevilla. The La Liga side have won the Europa League a record five times but Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have all the tools required to best them on the night.

Manchester United vs Copenhagen – Manchester United progress

Inter vs Bayer Leverkusen – Inter progress

Shakhtar Donetsk vs Basel – Shakhtar Donetsk progress

Wolves vs Sevilla – Wolves progress

Here we are then. The hypothetical final four. Things are really starting to hypothetically heat up!

Kicking things off on Sunday 16 August, it’s a mouth watering all-Premier League tie that is bound to make you finally care about a competition that you’ve been ignoring all season. In the red corner, the clear favourites United. In the amber corner, a Wolves team running on fumes as their never-ending 2019/20 campaign finally draws to a close.

You know what? This Wolves squad is a special bunch. Who are we to bet against them completing a couple more miracles before their limbs fall off due to fatigue? Expect die-hard Liverpool fan Conor Coady to play a key part in the Red Devils’ undoing. You know, just to add insult to injury.

Who will they be facing in the final, we hear you ask?

Well, as much as Inter love to bottle a good chance at winning some silverware, as much as Antonio Conte’s record in Europe is embarrassingly poor and as much as Shakhtar’s team of Brazilian, Football Manager regens will pose a tough test, the Nerazzurri will probably progress.

Manchester United vs Wolves – Wolves progress

Inter vs Shakhtar Donetsk – Inter progress

To recap then, we’re backing Inter to face Wolves in the 2020 Europa League in Cologne on 21 August.

It’s bound to be a fascinating tactical battle. In fact, we’re already picturing the football hipsters salivating at the thought of Nuno vs Conte – the battle of the back threes. Spine-tingling stuff indeed.

In terms of the result, it’s hard to look past Inter but Wolves could definitely cause them some problems. The thought of facing Adama Traore is bound to give Ashley Young nightmares and the battle for supremacy between the four wing-backs in general will be key.

Despite this, we’re still backing Inter to get the job done. The silverware should be enough for Conte to stave off the threat of redundancy for another season and successfully challenge a dwindling Juventus for the Scudetto during the 2020/21 campaign.

One hundred and sixty-five days after the first leg in west London, Bayern Munich were looking to put their Champions League tie with Chelsea to bed.

For a team who have not lost a single game in 2020, there was inevitably a swagger and confidence that they could dispatch the Blues – and sure enough, after just 24 minutes, it was game over – after Robert Lewandowski’s 9,138th goal of the season and Ivan Perišić’s cool finish, served to him on a plate by woeful Chelsea defending.

To add a cherry on top of some very sweet icing, Corentin Tolisso came off the bench to add a third for Bayern – smashing the ball past a helpless Willy Caballero – before Lewandowski sealed the deal with a powerful header; his second of the game, fourth goal involvement of the night and millionth reminder of how brilliant he is.

Simply put, Bayern were unstoppable on Saturday – though nothing less was expected from Hansi Flick’s relentless winning machine. Die Roten completely blew Chelsea away, with their performance over two legs utterly flawless and fantastic.

A wonderful team display was spearheaded by Lewandowski, who made it a remarkable 53 goals – not the aforementioned 9,138 alluded to before – for the season. The Bayern talisman has scored 13 of those in the Champions League, with no player in the competition’s history netting more at this stage of the competition.

Every single one of FCB’s goals was a result of the Pole’s instinctive play, whether he was powering it into the back of the net with his head or teeing up his teammates with an impressive display of passing. He is the striker that any team would want to lead the line, and Bayern are certainly reaping the rewards of having him at their disposal.

While the tie was won in attack, Lewandowski was not the only source of inspiraton. Perišić and Thomas Müller were superb all night, linking up nicely and creating numerous chances throughout the game. Leon Goretzka put in another outstanding shift in the heart of midfield, pulling the strings and single-handedly winning the midfield battle.

Alphonso Davies, meanwhile, has been a joy to watch all season, and he showed why everybody is talking about him with another impressive performance. Whether it was his explosive pace down the flank – completely neutralising the Blues’ youthful attack – or creating a string of chances, the Canadian could do no wrong under the European lights.

Every piece of the Bayern puzzle has been perfectly in place for months, and Saturday’s rout was just another formality for this magnificent side. They have grown in strength throughout their European journey, from their 7-2 thrashing of Tottenham to the blowing away of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and in Bavaria.

Bayern deserve nothing less than a place in the quarter-finals, and a flight down to Lisbon to conclude this unique yet exciting season of European football.

Barcelona are the next challengers for Flick’s men, in what will be a fascinating clash in the Portuguese capital. Barça have their hopes rested on Lionel Messi, but as an overall attacking threat, it is the Spanish giants who have more to fear.

This is arguably the greatest Bayern side we have seen in years, which is some feat considering they have racked up eight consecutive Bundesliga titles. They are undoubtedly favourites to go on and win the Champions League, in what would be an unprecedented treble – as well as a stunning debut season as head coach for Flick.

With the attacking threats of Lewandowski and Müller, the explosiveness of Davies and the dominance of Kimmich and Goretzka, Bayern are the team to beat, not to mention the ones to dread. They have cleared yet another hurdle en route to European glory, but their meeting with Barcelona will be the toughest yet.

Can Bayern do it? Of course they can.