Manchester United will kick off their 2024-25 Europa League campaign with a match against Eredivisie side FC Twente at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening.
This is the first time the two teams have met, and the "Red Devils" have only lost 1 of their 9 previous home games against Dutch teams.
Latest information on the Manchester United vs FC Twente squad.
Manchester United are still coping without summer signing Leny Yoro (foot injury), while Luke Shaw (calf), Tyrell Malacia (knee) and Victor Lindelof (toe) are all doubtful, although the latter two have returned to first-team training.
Despite keeping three consecutive clean sheets, Ten Hag may consider changes to his defense, with Harry Maguire as an option to replace Matthijs de Ligt or Lisandro Martinez at centre-back, while Manuel Ugarte or Casemiro could start in midfield in place of Kobbie Mainoo or Christian Eriksen.
Marcus Rashford will be hoping for a return to the starting lineup after being surprisingly left out of the Crystal Palace game, despite having scored three goals in the previous two matches. Alejandro Garnacho, Amad Diallo and Antony will also be competing for a starting spot on the wings, while Joshua Zirkzee could continue his attacking duties as Ten Hag gradually brings Rasmus Hojlund back into the starting XI.
As for FC Twente, midfielder Michal Sadilek – a regular starter last season – is still recovering from a skin laceration on his leg sustained in a cycling accident before Euro 2024, and he is being treated alongside Younes Taha, who broke his leg in the Eredivisie draw against PEC Zwolle more than a week ago.
Manager Oosting is unlikely to make many changes to his starting lineup, if any, with summer signing Bart van Rooij expected to continue playing on the right in the four-man defense alongside Mees Hilgers, Max Bruns and Anass Salah-Eddine.
Sem Steijn has been one of Twente's standout players this season, scoring seven goals in eight games across all competitions, and the 22-year-old is expected to operate in the number 10 role behind former Rangers striker Sam Lammers.
Latest predicted lineups for MU vs FC Twente
Manchester United:
Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Dalot; Ugarte, Mainoo; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Zirkzee
FC Twente:
Unnerstall; Van Rooij, Hilgers, Bruns, Salah-Eddine; Eiting, Regger; Rots, Steijn, Van Bergen; Lammers
Latest football match prediction: MU vs FC Twente
Despite finishing only eighth in the Premier League last season, Manchester United are participating in the Europa League for the seventh time since the competition was rebranded in 2009, after winning the FA Cup final against Manchester City in May.
Manchester United have had an uneven start to the new season, winning three, losing three and drawing one of their seven matches across all competitions, following two consecutive wins against Southampton (3-0) and Barnsley (7-0), but only managing a goalless draw against Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.
Erik ten Hag claimed his side "dominated Palace in the first half" at Selhurst Park, but they ultimately lacked sharpness in the final third and could only come away with a point, leaving them 11th in the table after five games, three points behind the top four.
Manchester United will now turn their attention to the Europa League and the first of eight matches in the expanded 36-team tournament, starting with a home game against FC Twente on Wednesday, followed by matches against Porto, Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce, PAOK, Bodo/Glimt, Viktoria Plzen, Rangers and FCSB.
Manchester United, who have lost only one of their last 24 home games in the Europa League, are confident of success in their opening match against Twente and are among the favorites by bookmakers to win the tournament this year, for the second time in their history since their victory in the 2016-17 season.
FC Twente finished third in the Eredivisie last season, for the first time in a decade, and have earned 11 points from their first six top-league games of the new season, winning their last two matches against Heerenveen and Almere City.
After an easy 2-0 home win against Robin van Persie's Heerenveen, the Tukkers team had a crushing 5-0 away win against Almere last weekend, thanks to goals from Sem Steijn (2), Sam Lammers, Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Anass Salah-Eddine.
Ranked fourth in the Eredivisie table and seven points behind leaders PSV Eindhoven, Twente are now focusing on their first European campaign since participating in the Europa League group stage in 2012-13. They missed out on Champions League qualification earlier this season after losing to Red Bull Salzburg 5-4 on aggregate in the third qualifying round.
Joseph Oosting has been Twente's head coach since July 2023, winning 27 of his 48 games in charge, and he has been tasked with ending the club's seven-match winless streak in the Europa League at the Theatre of Dreams on Wednesday.
However, success against English opponents has been difficult for the Tukkers in recent years, with only one win in their previous 13 encounters across all competitions – a narrow 1-0 victory over Fulham in the 2011-12 Europa League group stage. FC Twente have rediscovered their goalscoring form in recent weeks and could pose a threat to Manchester United's defense on Wednesday, particularly through their in-form striker Steijn.
Ten Hag's team has been somewhat inconsistent for a while, but we expect the "Red Devils" to overcome their opponents and start their Europa League campaign on a positive note.
Predicting the score for MU vs FC Twente
Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have come up with the following predictions for the MU vs FC Twente match:
- Sportsmole: MU 3-1 FC Twente
- WhoScore: MU 2-0 FC Twente
- Our prediction: MU 3-1 FC Twente
When and where can I watch the MU vs FC Twente match live?
To watch the MU vs FC Twente match live in the Europa League at 2:00 AM on September 26th, viewers can tune in to K+ Sport here or other online sports channels. We wish you enjoyable football viewing moments.
Source: https://baodaknong.vn/nhan-dinh-du-doan-mu-vs-fc-twente-quy-do-thang-cach-biet-230081.html
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