The Morning Sports Briefing

United’s Champions League hopes in the balance

Manchester United's hopes of qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League took a big blow last night as they drew 0-0 with PSV Eindhoven at Old Trafford after an insipid and lacklustre display.

Louis van Gaal’s side must now travel to play Wolfsburg in their final group fixture knowing only a win will guarantee their passage into the knockouts.

It was a poor night for both Manchester clubs with City missing out on the chance to top Group D after a Mario Mandzukic goal consigned them to a 1-0 loss at Juventus.

Brighton interested in Richie Towell

Meanwhile Dundalk's Richie Towell is weighing up his options after a fine season, with Chris Hughton's Brighton reportedly one of the clubs interested in the PFAI Player of the Year.

Ian Madigan weighing up his options

Leinster and Ireland star Ian Madigan is out of contract at the end of the season, and the talented utility-back has admitted his future may lie away from the province after reports earlier this week suggested English sides Bristol and Harlequins were interested in acquiring his services.

The 26-year-old is a product of Leinster’s academy but is currently assessing his options, he said: “I’m doing that at the moment, waiting for my agent to come back to me on what interest is out there. Then we’ll go from there. I’ll weigh up the pros and cons of staying here, the pros and cons of going elsewhere.”

Women in sport

Today sees The Irish Times Women in Sport series continue, and as well as Sonia O'Sullivan's weekly column there are interviews with squash star Madeline Perry, Ireland rugby captain Niamh Briggs and jumps jockey Rachael Blackmore both in the newspaper and on the website.

Sonia O’Sullivan

O'Sullivan emphasises how important it is for successful athletes to relax, she writes: Back in 1997, when I first started to train under the guidance of British distance coachAlan Storey, it surprised me how much emphasis he placed on relaxation. If you try too hard in training, he believed, you also stressed the mind, and with that the body reacts negatively.

Euro 2017 qualifier

Elsewhere, Ireland women welcome Spain to Tallaght today looking for a win which would give their hopes of Euro 2017 qualification a significant boost.

The visiting Spaniards are a daunting prospect for Sue Ronan’s side, but the Ireland boss is confident her side can emulate Martin O’Neill’s men by beating the top seeds on home turf, she said: “The girls feel that we can get something out of the game and we feel they can too.”

America at Large

In this week's America at Large column Dave Hannigan looks at the remarkable life of Mal Whitfield, an Olympic gold medallist who was also a master sergeant in the US Air Force.

What to watch out for:

Football

There’s Europa League action tonight with Tottenham Hostpur making the long trip to Azerbaijan to play Qarabag (Setanta, BT Sport Europe, 6pm ko), Celtic welcoming Ajax to Parkhead (BT Sport 2, 8.05pm ko) and Liverpool facing Bordeaux (BT Sport Europe, 8.05pm ko)

Golf

Paul Dunne tees off at 11.30am in the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa, with Kevin Phelan (-2 through 13) and Peter Lawrie (+6 through 11) already underway.