Manchester United are getting ready for their Europa League challenges! If they want to make this season a true success, a European trophy would do, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is still waiting to lift one as the manager of the club he used to play for. Man United have reached the semifinals without too much trouble, as they got to the knockout stages following disappointments in the Champions League. But since, they have done well. Real Sociedad were dispatched after the 4-0 first leg win, AC Milan were a tricky opponent, but the Devils have managed to get past them and then Granada were no match for the Red Devils.
Now, with two semi final legs against AS Roma, Man United will try to finally reach a final under Solskjaer, as his team has lost every single one of them so far, including the Europa League semifinal against Inter last year. Here is everything you need to know ahead of the first of the two clashes.
Team News
Only absentees for Man United will be Anthony Martial and Phil Jones who still have knee problems, while Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay have all served their one-match suspension.
On the other hand, Roma will be without Gianluca Mancini (suspension), Nicolo Zaniolo (cruciate ligamnet injury last year), while former Man United players Chris Smalling and Henrikh Mkhitaryan should be just about ready to feature.
Form Guide
For the first time after five weeks, Man United have managed not to win a match. Last weekend their five-match winning streak was put to a halt when Leeds United managed to get a 0-0 draw in a game that had seen the Devils do more and create more. Nevertheless, that draw will definitely not hurt United all that much, considering they are pretty much safe in second place, with five points more than the third-placed Leicester with five games to go. Now, the focus returns to Europa League, where some silverware could be picked up.
To get to the grand final, Man United will need to get past another Serie A club. After two La Liga outfits, now the second Italian team will have to be defeated. That is AS Roma, currently the seventh-best team in Serie A. Their form? Patchy at best, considering they have no wins in their last four games, two of which were league defeats.
Roma managed to get past Sporting Braga, Shakhtar Donetsk and Ajax in the knockout stages of the Europa League and they were on a good track of reaching that competition next season again. But now looking how their form has unravelled , Roma will definitely want to win Europa League and qualify for the Champions League. The reason is that they are currently in seventh place and far away from the sixth, meaning they will have to stay in seventh if they want to play in Europa Conference League next year.
In their last seven Serie A matches, Roma have defeated only Bologna, losing four games and drawing twice in the process. It seems they are now prioritising Europa League as well.
Predicted Outcome
It is a tough one to predict, but knowing how Roma want to do business, do not expect many goals. Manchester United should be happy with a 1-0 victory at home, so maybe go for such expectations. Roma are an experienced side with Edin Dzeko as their leader up front and this will be an intriguing matchup.
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