As a Manchester United supporter, the contrasting fortunes between Premier League agony and Europa League ecstasy are an unquestionable ache.
On one hand, the jubilation of a memorable Lyon comeback and a comprehensive dismantling of Athletic Club in a partisan Basque arena. On the other hand, the frustration of six consecutive league outings without victory.
That 3-0 first-leg conquest in Bilbao has positioned Ruben Amorim’s men with one foot in the Europa League final ahead of Thursday evening’s return leg at Old Trafford.
However, nothing can be taken for granted, and anything less than a professional performance will result in another forgettable outing and a plethora of axes for our Portuguese tactician.
Amidst a season of change and never-ending uncertainty about staff, results or infrastructure, the allure of a return to San Mames Stadium has presented the most unlikely of season-ending dances for this group to grasp.
Manchester United Team News
Amorim is facing a dilemma in defence following a visibly excruciating injury to Matthijs de Ligt during the weekend encounter with Brentford.
The Dutch international collided with Yoane Wissa and immediately gestured to the sideline, grasping his leg in agony. Unfortunately, this has prevented him from joining the first team during Wednesday’s group session.
After the 4-3 Premier League defeat, the former Sporting chief cited his season concerns for the player: “I don’t know, we will check. I hope it is [only] a small issue because I am concerned, not only about this game against Athletic Club, but about the squad for the next year.”
Luke Shaw is primed to fill the void, having successfully integrated back into the rotation.
Christian Eriksen was also absent from today’s session following his cameo return, but Noussair Mazraoui was active after his omission from the trip to London.
Rasmus Hojlund, Bruno Fernandes and Andre Onana were rested against the Bees and are expected to return to the Starting XI.
Promisingly for the Manchester faithful, Ernesto Valverde is without the Williams brothers for the trip to the North West. Nico continues to battle against ongoing groin issues, while Inaki has failed to recover from a hamstring strain.
Additionally, top scorer Oihan Sancet is not in the travelling party, as Dani Vivian will serve his suspension following his first-leg dismissal for a challenge on Hojlund.
Although the Spanish side offers a serious threat, only once in major European knockout competitions has a team won an opening leg by 3+ goals and failed to progress to the following stage (Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 2023-24 Conference League vs Olympiakos).
Furthermore, Athletic have lost seven of their previous nine trips to England (one win and one draw).
Should United avoid defeat and extend their unbeaten run to 14, they will become the seventh side in the history of the Europa League to reach the final without suffering a loss.
Say what you will about the trials and tribulations of domestic life, that is no mean feat for any side in the modern game.
How do you feel about Manchester United ahead of another huge encounter with Athletic Club?
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