Manchester United have not looked convincing to start the 2019/20 season. However, they are coming off a 1-0 win over Leicester City the last time out. Now they will shift their focus to the 2019-20 UEFA Europa League debut. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have another chance to lead his side to victory when The Red Devils take on FK Astana on Thursday. Kick-off for this match is slated at 20:00 hrs BST.
Team News
Manchester United are quite depleted when it comes to injuries, although two first-team members are set to return. Jesse Lingard and Diogo Dalot will return to the squad, Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Eric Bailly remain sidelined as well, just like Luke Shaw. Promising winger Daniel James also worked separated from the squad. He’s not expected to feature in this match, based on recent reports.
Astana do not have any injury concerns ahead of this match. They will reportedly field their Best XI available.
Form guide
Manchester United are coming off a solid win over Leicester City the last time out. Through their first five Premier League matches, The Red Devils own a W2, D2, L1 mark. This will be their first UEFA Europa League match of the season. United clinched an automatic spot on the Group Stage following a sixth-place finish in the 2018-19 campaign.
Astana, on the other hand, are currently sitting in second place of the Kazakhstan Premier League although they do have two games in hand. They reached the UEFA Europa League group stage after eliminating FC Santa Coloma (Andorra), Valletta (Malta) and BATE Borisov (Belarus) during the qualifying stages. They outscored their opponents 16-4 during that qualifying run.
What is our recent record against FK Astana?
Manchester United do not have a track record against Astana. In fact, this will be first time ever that Manchester United will face Kazakhstani opposition.
Predicted outcome
Manchester United will aim to kick off their UEFA Europa League campaign on a strong note. Even though they are complicated due to injuries, there’s no question The Red Devils own the better squad when comparing both sides. All things considering and knowing they will be at home, Manchester United should secure the three points in this fixture.
Leave a Reply