Manchester United cannot bank on winning the Europa League to ensure their place in next season’s Champions League, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said.

The Old Trafford side are fifth in the Premier League, three points behind Chelsea, who occupy the fourth and final berth for Europe’s elite club competition.

United host Club Brugge later on Thursday in the second leg of their Europa League last 32 tie, which is locked at 1-1.

“In a cup competition you never know … you cannot predict, you can’t rely on, ‘we’ll win this.’ There are good teams in it,” Solskjaer told a news conference.