Man Utd team news vs Athletic Bilbao and predicted lineup
Manchester United look set to return to the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao for the Europa League Final later this month following a 3-0 win at the venue over Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of their semi-final last week.
Man Utd predicted lineup vs Athletic Bilbao
Man Utd (3-4-2-1): Onana; Lindelof, Maguire, Yoro; Mazraoui, Ugarte, Casemiro, Dorgu; Fernandes, Garnacho; Hojlund.
Only a remarkable fightback from the Basque side could deny Man Utd a place in the final now, and the pair will settle the tie in the second leg this week.
The Old Trafford decider will be shown live on TNT Sports 1 on Thursday 8th May with kick-off at 8pm.
Man Utd team news vs Athletic Bilbao
Man Utd are sweating over the fitness of Matthijs de Ligt, who was forced off with a muscle problem in the weekend loss to Brentford. Toby Collyer (leg) will also be assessed ahead of kick-off, while Lisandro Martinez (knee), Joshua Zirkzee (thigh), Diogo Dalot (calf) and Ayden Heaven (ankle) are unlikely to be seen in action again this season.
Chido Obi-Martin is ineligible to play in the Europa League, so Rasmus Hojlund is set to return up front, with captain Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho providing support in attack.
Amad Diallo is pushing for a start having featured from the bench in Man Utd’s win following his return from injury.
Victor Lindelof could start in central defence with Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro or Noussair Mazraoui alongside him.
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Man Utd’s unbeaten run
Tottenham Hotspur or Bodo/Glimt will face the winner of this tie in the final later this month. Man Utd, like Tottenham, look to be in a fairly comfortable position in this deciding fixture.
Man Utd dominated the first leg last week once home defender Dani Vivian had been shown a red card in the 35th minute, and only a collapse of epic proportions could deny the Premier League side a ticket to the final.
The Red Devils remain unbeaten in this season’s competition and could become only the seventh team — and only the second English side after Chelsea (2018-19) — to reach the Europa League final without losing a match along the way.
Also in Man Utd’s favour is the fact they are unbeaten in their last 11 Europa League home games at Old Trafford since losing 0-1 to Sociedad in September 2022.
Athletic appear to have lost form at just the wrong time and they have a mountain to climb to turn around this tie if they are to reach a dream final at their home ground.
Five wins in 14 La Liga matches for Athletic has left them clinging on to a Champions League qualification spot, while the goals look to have dried up too.
They have failed to score in six of their last nine games across all competitions, including two of their last three in the Europa League. And they head to Old Trafford having lost seven of their nine previous away meetings with English clubs in all European competitions.
Everything is stacked in Man Utd’s favour, but Bilbao’s desperation could lead to a lively encounter in Manchester on Thursday evening.
