It is a make-or-mar Europa League second-leg quarter-final match between Manchester United and Sevilla in Spain on Thursday, April 20.
About a week ago, Sevilla visited Old Trafford for the first leg of the Europa League tie and were able to come back from 2 goals down to run away with a 2-2 draw.
During the game, Marcel Sabitzer scored in the 14th and 21st minutes to give Manchester United the lead. Unfortunately, things changed dramatically in the second half as United lost two of their most reliable defenders Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane to different degrees of injuries.
In their absence, two own goals from Tyrell Malacia in the 84th minute and Harry Maguire in injury time brought the Spanish side back to the contest.
As it stands, Manchester United have only one job which is defeating Sevilla at Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Though Sevilla are the most successful team in the Europa League with a record six titles, they are struggling domestically so far this season. They are currently sitting in the 13th spot on the league table with 35 points in 29 games.
Hence, the surest way to qualify for the Champions League next season is to knock out Manchester United and go on to win the Europa League title.
With this, Sevilla are expected to be more motivated than the Premier League club who are on the verge of finishing the season in the top four and already won a title this season (Carabao Cup).
However, Erik ten Hag and his team are favorites to not only knock out Sevilla but to win the Europa League for the first time since Jose Mourinho won it for them on May 24, 2017. But Manchester United have never beaten Sevilla in their history which could be a big motivation for the Red Devils in Thursday’s clash.
Below are other Europa League Quarter-Finals Second Leg fixtures:
Roma 0 Vs Feyenoord 1
Union Saint-Gilloise 1 Vs Leverkusen 1
Sporting 0 Vs Juventus 1
Note that all the games will kick off at 8 PM on Thursday, April 20.
