Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag hit out against the Premier League’s fixture scheduling after their 2-0 win against Everton on Saturday, but the Dutchman has the rare opportunity of a four-day break between fixtures as the Red Devils return to the European stage. With one trophy already secured after their Carabao Cup success, Manchester United will be looking to replicate their 2017 triumph in the UEFA Europa League (UEL).
Hosting the first leg certainly seems a good omen, Manchester United unbeaten at Old Trafford in 24 matches (W21, D3), a run that stretches back to September 2022. Their last home loss came against Real Sociedad in this competition, although they’ve gone some distance to avenging that defeat since, avoiding defeat in five competitive meetings against Spanish opposition (W4, D1).
Sevilla may be a different beast though, with the UEL specialists arriving in Manchester having never lost a H2H against Manchester United (W2, D1). After sacking Jorge Sampaoli over the international break, new boss José Luis Mendilibar has overseen an unbeaten start to life at the helm (W1, D1), although he was left frustrated by a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo in their last outing.
Mendilibar described VAR and the referee’s performance as “nonsense” after his side had two players sent off in that match, but they won’t be suspended for the trip to England as Sevilla look to master UEFA’s second-tier competition for a seventh time. If they’re to manage that, they’ll need to improve on the road, as they’ve won just one of their last eight away matches (D1, L6), while they’ve lost four UEL trips in a row and were knocked out of this competition by English opposition last season (West Ham).
Players to watch: Described by ten Hag as the best player on the pitch against Everton, Bruno Fernandes is Manchester United most dangerous weapon in the UEL, directly contributing to 17 goals in 24 appearances in this competition for the club (G9, A8). Sevilla may then turn to frontman Youssef En-Nesyri who has scored in back-to-back games under Mendilibar.
Hot stat: Manchester United have scored 11 of their last 14 goals after half-time.
