Manchester United vs Sevilla Preview

By Achillies Zanettis -
Image result for manchester united vs sevilla

It is the eve of our Champions League, second leg game against Sevilla. On paper, we should win this game. But Football doesn’t always work that way.

We may have the better players but we know how Sevilla have been in recent years, regarding European Football. They tend to go far. I have to admit, when we got Sevilla in the draw, i was very optimistic. But after not getting an away goal in the first leg, it might leave us needing two goals to go through, should Sevilla score. Our first leg game against them showed how stubborn they can be defensively. So it might turn out to be a tough ask to get two goals against them.

Their home game against Liverpool in the group stages showed their fighting spirit. Most teams that go 3-0 down tend to play like they’ve had the stuffing knocked out of them. That would be the natural response. But Sevilla showed that night, that they can be productive at the other end. Losing 3-0, and then drawing the game 3-3, shows that their attacking players can turn it on when needed.

I am sure most Manchester United fans, and Football fans in general, will think we should win this game easily. But that would be arrogance. Sevilla should not be overlooked. They are a dangerous side defensively and attacking wise, as they showed against us in the first leg, and against Liverpool. Not only should we as fans not underestimate Sevilla, but our players shouldn’t either. That would be a huge mistake.

Our form heading into our second leg game against Sevilla, is very good. We have won our last three games since the first leg encounter. We’ve beaten Chelsea, Crystal Palace, and Liverpool. Scoring seven goals, and conceding four in the process. Sevilla’s form since the first leg, is won two, lost two. Scoring five goals. Conceding seven.

Sevilla’s form is patchy, but they always seem to bring their A game on European nights. Whereas most teams would find it daunting facing Manchester United at Old Trafford, i don’t think Sevilla will. They are an experienced side in Europe, with five Uefa Cup/Europa League wins to their name. That is no easy feat. That is why i think Sevilla will relish playing us.

Possible Starting Lineups: 

Manchester United (4-2-3-1)
De Gea
Valencia, Bailly, Smalling, Young
Matic, McTominay
Mata, Sanchez, Rashford
Lukaku

Sevilla (4-2-3-1)
Rico
Escudero, Lenglet, Kjaer, Mercado
Banega, N’Zonzi
Correa, Vazquez, Sarabia
Muriel

Team News

Manchester United
The good news regarding Paul Pogba going into the game, is that he took part in today’s training session. So there’s a possibility he could feature in tomorrow’s game.

After a two game absence, Anthony Martial is available for selection. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is fit again, after taking part in the training session today. They are reasons to be even more optimistic going into our game tomorrow night.

Marouane Fellaini is another possibility for our midfield options. But Phil Jones, Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo, and Ander Herrera are sidelined. Jesse Lingard might not be risked, considering he is one booking away from serving a one match European ban.

Sevilla
Jesus Navas will miss the game. Same goes for Sebastien Corchia, and Miguel Layun. As of writing, no other changes are expected. Just like Jesse Lingard, Sergio Escudero, Ever Banega, and Gabriel Mercado, are all one booking away from a one match European ban.

My Prediction
· Manchester United face a task against a very seasoned European side. If Sevilla score once, that would make it very nervy for us. If they do that, they could park the bus, and frustrate us. Mourinho, and the team, will be very aware of this. 

· Since Mourinho has taken over, we have only lost twice at home. That, in itself, is an amazing stat. Mourinho has made Old Trafford a fortress again.

· Sevilla have only lost once in their last six matches away from home. And the most telling statistic, is that they have scored in every European game this season. Which does make you nervous, if you’re a Manchester United fan. Because, if that happens, we will need at least two goals to make it through.

· Taking into account our home form, and the confidence gained by beating rivals Liverpool on Saturday, i think we will progress to the Quarter Finals.

My score prediction: Manchester United to win 2-1

Comments

Post a comment

Popular posts from this blog

Manchester United vs LASK Preview

By Andrew Wall -
Image
Manchester United resume their Europa League campaign after last competing in the competition back in March winning the first leg against LASK 5-0 with goals from Igahlo, James, Mata, Greenwood and Pereria putting us into a commanding position. All these players will be looking to play some part in this game and in the rest of the tournament.
The United players returned to training after being given a week off following the conclusion of the Premier League season. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had said in preparations for the game, “they need mental and physical time away from the place because the effort has been fantastic, so recharge the batteries for a few days and then go again. We’ve got LASK and a 5-0 lead, so we don’t have to go into that game chasing a two or three-goal win. We just want a good performance and hopefully that will be enough to get into the quarters”.
It is expected that changes will be made to the side as Ole looks to rotate the squad to give those fringe players more ga…
Read more

Manchester United vs LASK Player Ratings

By Millsy's View -
Image
Summary Well, for those Manchester United fans hoping for a heart stopping return to European action for their team (and there weren’t many, considering it was already 5-0 before we started), they probably got it – except if perhaps they died of boredom.
That’s right, Jake Hammond on BT Sports summed up the first half perfectly when he described the highlights as “two catches and a missed header”, as United’s second string failed to impress. 
Honestly, for most of the first half, Manchester United were actually outplayed by Austria’s fourth-best team this season. LASK’s players had as much to prove to their new manager as our second XI had to prove to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his team, yet, sadly, none of them were hammering on the door to be picked.
If it wasn’t for Anthony Martial’s late introduction to the game, we may well have lost our first ever match against Austrian opposition, the way the game was going. Fortunately, though, we got the win in the end and go through to the n…
Read more

How the Big Six can compete for the title next season

By Arjun_Handa -
Image
Liverpool were the clear champions of the Premier League this season as they broke numerous records in securing their first ever Premier League and first domestic title in 30 years. Manchester City came the closest to competing with the Reds but it was a staggering distance for Pep's Cityzens. Manchester United and Chelsea both secured top four finishes (in that order) and demonstrated the progress made under the former-player managers and their young squads. While Leicester bottled a Champions League spot and finished fifth, Spurs snuck past Wolves to grab sixth and will compete in the Europa League next season, like their North London rivals who finished a dismal eighth but secured Europa League after their 2-1 win in the FA Cup Final. 
But what do these excellent clubs need to push for the title next season? PLAYERS! It's obvious! Squad depth has never been more important for these sides and especially, in the tightly-packed fixture list post-lockdown, some of these club'…
Read more

Manchester United vs LASK: 5 Things we learned.

By Joe Smith -
Image
Manchester United are through to the quarter finals of the Europa League thanks to a 2-1 win at old Trafford on Wednesday evening (7-1 on aggregate). A win is a win but United will have been disappointed with the overall team performance. The Red Devil’s fell behind thanks to a fantastic long-range effort from Philipp Weisinger. However, their opponents lead only lasted for 94 seconds when Jesse Lingard slotted home to bring the hosts level. Anthony Martial then came off the bench to win the game, linking up nicely with Juan Mata and finishing through the keeper’s legs. United now head to Cologne to play FC Copenhagen in the quarter finals of the competition. Here are the five things we learned:1.United’s squad is just not good enough.The players on the fringe of the first team did themselves absolutely no favours tonight. In fact, some of them may not have only played their way out of the first 11 for the rest of the Europa League campaign but out of the club too. You could argue tha…
Read more

Manchester United vs FC Copenhagen Preview

By Andrew Wall -
Image
Manchester United meet Danish side FC Copenhagen on Monday night as we prepare to advance into the last four of the UEFA Europa League and look to go all the way to secure this trophy for the second time since winning the competition back in 2017. The competition has now entered a revised format for the quarter finals onwards as it is now a one leg tie after the tournament had been postponed due to the lockdown with now all matches taking place in stadiums across Germany.
After a gruelling end to the Premier League season, Ole Gunnar Solskjær was keen to rest key players for the second leg against LASK whilst giving some of the fringe players more game time. We had been leading 5-0 from the first leg and so we had the confidence to know we would be going through. 
However, it was an underwhelming display from United as those fringe players lacked the match sharpness and at times were sloppy in possession, in our passing and with our final balls into the six yard box. Though LASK took a …
Read more