Manchester United are ready for some European action! The Manchester Derby has been handled better than most of England expected to be the case and now it is time again to play in Europa League. The competition Man United did not really want to participate in came as teh result of a poor Champions League group stage campaign and now this will be a chance for the squad to maybe get a good run in the knockout stages.
The first opponent has been handled, as Real Sociedad found out all too well few weeks ago and now Milan are the opposition that await. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his players will want to show their strength against the side that had threatened to fight for the Serie A title, although that has changed since the turn of the year.
Team News
Manchester United will have their troubles in terms of injuries, as Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and Phil Jones will all miss the game. Out of action should also be Donny van de Beek, who has not been fit recently. These are not the only players, either, as David de Gea has reportedly still been in Spain on paternity leave, which is another reason why Dean Henderson should be expected to start in goal.
On the other side, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not be making his return to Old Trafford due to injury, which is also why Ismael Bennacer will not be there to help out in midfield. There are certain doubts around Theo Hernandez at left-back and Hakan Calhanoglu in the number 10 role, but it remains to be seen whether they will play or not. Mario Mandzukic should also be sidelined.
Form Guide
Manchester United have not been in ideal form recently, but after a 2-0 win against Manchester City in the big derby, no one really remembers that anymore. The Devils managed to end their 21-match long winning streak and they did so in style, without conceding a goal. Where United also did not concede was in the two games against Real Sociedad in the round of 32, winning 4-0 away from home, before an expected 0-0 draw at Old Trafford.
AC Milan have been far from their best in recent weeks. Stefano Pioli’s team has struggled a lot recently, which is why they scraped their way to the round of 16 in Europa League and also why they are now already six points behind Inter in Serie A standings.
This is still a very good season for Milan, but in their last seven matches in all competitions, they have won just two. Both of those came in the past three games, beating Roma and Verona away from home, while getting a 1-1 draw against Udinese at San Siro. Their last two Europa League games came against Red Star Belgrade, in which they managed to get past the champions of Serbia with two draws. It was 2-2 in Serbia and 1-1 in Italy, despite Milan having an extra-man for the last 20 minutes of both games.
Predicted Outcome
Manchester United should be expected to get a win with a single goal’s difference. The confidence is high after beating Man City, the team is usually feeling more free-flowing in Europa League as there is less pressure than in the Premier League. And then there is teh fact that AC Milan have been far from where they want to be with their performances in the past month. All of that is enough to say – Man United can get a win here.
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