Manchester United face their second Europa League tie on Thursday evening, looking to recover from their 1-0 defeat away to Feyenoord in the face game.
Their opponents Zorya Luhansk are a relative unknown to many, and they will also be looking to claim their first win of the tournament after starting with a 1-1 home draw with Fenerbahce.
Form:
United go into this one after getting back to winning ways with a convincing 4-1 victory over Leicester City. There was plenty of encouragement from the game, including the performances of Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera as a midfield partnership.
Their opponents; managed by Yuriy Vernydub, come into the match with some form. A last-minute winner saw them win away at Dynamo Kiev, while they also beat Vorskla Poltava in their last match.
Based in Eastern Ukraine, Zorya play normally a 4-4-1-1 formation with most of their goals coming from their front-man, Vladyslav Kulach, a Ukrainian on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Team news and predicted line-up (Manchester United):
Manager Jose Mourinho confirmed that Luke Shaw (illness) and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are both unavailable for selection, as well as Phil Jones who is still recovering from a knee injury.
Anthony Martial has recovered and is fit to play, while Jose confirmed that Zlatan will definitely lead the line for United in what looks to be a stronger team than the one that played against Feyenoord.
Meanwhile, Wayne Rooney didn’t train on Tuesday due to a back problem and his fitness will need to be discussed before he a decision can be made about him playing.
Jose confirmed that the media also had a role in deciding if Rooney starts:
“So I was completely convinced of playing him tomorrow from the beginning with this situation in the last couple of days, but I am not sure if I do that because of the situation you created with him.
He can’t afford to have a performance that is not really good. Because I am here to protect him and not to put him in difficult situations I have to analyse whether the best thing for him is to start the game if he is not totally ready for it. So I am going to discuss that with him and the medical staff and decide whether he starts or is on the bench.”
Marcus Rashford could therefore play in an attacking midfield with Juan Mata and the returning Martial all behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Manchester United predicted line-up:
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Prediction:
Potentially, this could be tricky against an unknown team, but after the performance on Saturday and confirmation that Jose will play a strong team, it seems unlikely to not be a fairly comfortable United win. It could be a difficult opening 20 minutes or so, but then once the first goal goes in, it should be all over pretty quick. A 3-0 win for United, with Mata and Rashford getting on the score-sheet again.
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