The final game of Ruud van Nistelrooy's caretaker reign at Manchester United comes on Thursday night, when the Red Devils host Greek side PAOK at Old Trafford in the Europa League.
The two teams will meet for the first time in history and are both looking for their first win of the season.
Latest Man Utd vs PAOK squad information
Manchester United will be without Kobbie Mainoo (thigh), Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw (both calf), Tyrell Malacia (knee), Antony (ankle) and Leny Yoro (foot), however, Yoro is edging closer to a return.
Mason Mount (minor injury) returned to training this week after recovering, but Thursday's game could be too early for the midfielder, while Christian Eriksen will be assessed before kick-off after missing the last two games with an unspecified problem.
Bruno Fernandes was suspended for the Europa League tie against Fenerbahce, but he could return and is expected to start in an attacking midfield role behind Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee up front. The likes of Amad Diallo, Jonny Evans, Victor Lindelof and Harry Amass are all hoping to start.
As for PAOK, former Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren, former Aston Villa striker Mbwana Samatta and 38-year-old captain Vieirinha - who scored against Man United while playing for Wolfsburg in 2015 - are all left out of the Greek club's Europa League squad.
Former Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko will also miss out through injury, so Mady Camara and Stefan Schwab will compete for a starting spot in midfield alongside Magomed Ozdoyev.
Shola Shoretire spent 10 years at Man United before moving to PAOK on a free transfer this summer, and he is in line to face his former club on Thursday. The 20-year-old has scored once in eight appearances for PAOK in all competitions this season.
Latest Man Utd vs PAOK expected lineup
Manchester United:
Onana; Dalot, De Ligt, Martinez, Mazraoui; Ugarte, Casemiro; Diallo, Fernandes, Rashford; Zirkzee
PAOK:
Kotarski; Jonny, Kedziora, Colley, Rahman; Camara, Ozdoyev; Despodov, Konstantelias, Taison; Chalov
Latest Man Utd vs PAOK football review
More than 12 months have passed since United last won in Europe; they go into Thursday's game on a run of four draws and two defeats in their last six European games, their worst run since 1980 to 1983 (also six games), and they have never gone seven games without a win.
The Red Devils are currently 21st in the 36-team Europa League standings after drawing their first three matches in the newly-formed group stage under former coach Erik ten Hag, picking up just one point from three games against FC Twente, Porto and Fenerbahce, despite leading in all three matches.
A disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Twente and a dramatic 3-3 draw away to Porto were followed by another 1-1 draw in Türkiye with Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce a fortnight ago, when Christian Eriksen's opener was equalised by Youssef En-Nesyri early in the second half.
Ten Hag was then sacked and Ruud van Nistelrooy took over on an interim basis, leading the team to a 5-2 win over Leicester City in the Carabao Cup and a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the Premier League last weekend. Van Nistelrooy will remain in charge of United for the remaining two games before Ruben Amorim takes over on November 11.
Van Nistelrooy is tasked with reviving United's Europa League campaign, and the Red Devils will be confident of a win on Thursday, having won all six of their home games against Greek sides by a combined score of 20-1.
PAOK, who are in the Europa League for the first time in four years and reached the quarter-finals of the Conference League last season, are one of 11 teams, along with Man United, yet to win any of their first three games of the season.
The Greek side lost their first two games against Galatasaray (3-1) and FCSB (1-0), but then picked up their first points when they came back from two goals down against Viktoria Plzen with just six minutes remaining to salvage a 2-2 draw at home two weeks ago.
PAOK are currently 30th in the Europa League table with just one win in their last 13 games (D4 L8) in the second tier of European club competition, while they have also lost their last five away games in the competition.
However, under Razvan Lucescu, PAOK have made a strong start to their Greek Super League title defence this season, picking up 20 points from their first 10 games, most recently a 2-1 win away to Lamia last weekend, and are currently second, one point behind leaders Aris Thessaloniki.
Before preparing for Sunday's tough clash with Olympiacos, PAOK will turn their attention to Thursday's European clash with Man United and will be looking to avoid a three-match winless run against English opposition, having lost their last two games against Chelsea in 2018-19. PAOK had previously gone four games unbeaten against English opposition, with a win and a draw against Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
Man Utd vs PAOK score prediction
Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the following results for the Man Utd vs PAOK match:
- Sportsmole: Man Utd 2-0 PAOK
- WhoScore: Man Utd 3-0 PAOK
- Our prediction: Man Utd 2-0 PAOK
When and where to watch Man Utd vs PAOK live?
To watch live the match Man Utd vs PAOK in the Europa League taking place at 3:00 on November 8, viewers can watch on K+ Sport here or online sports channels. Wish you all have fun watching football.
Source: https://baodaknong.vn/nhan-dinh-du-doan-man-utd-vs-paok-keo-tren-thang-de-233661.html
Comment (0)