Manchester United fly out to Denmark for Thursday’s Europa League last 32, first-leg tie with FC Midtjylland.
Manchester United face a first-ever meeting with Denmark’s FC Midtjylland in the last 32 of the Europa League, with the first leg at their MCH Arena in Herning.
United’s Premier League top-four hopes suffered a blow as Sunderland inflicted a 2-1 defeat at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. The Reds missed a chance to close the gap on the top four as Lamine Kone’s 82nd-minute header rebounded off David de Gea to condemn United to another disappointing performance
The Reds aren’t in top-flight action again until 28 February, when Arsenal visit Old Trafford, so attentions now turn to this European tie, the two legs of which sandwich Monday’s Emirates FA Cup trip to Shrewsbury Town.
United last competed in the UEFA Europa League in 2011/12, reaching the round of 16. Should they triumph in the UEFA Europa League this season, they would become only the fifth club to have won all three major UEFA trophies (European Champion Clubs’ Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup and UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup) after AFC Ajax, FC Bayern München, Juventus and Chelsea FC.
Enjoying their longest European season, Midtjylland are preparing for the most high-profile game in their short history, the round of 32 opener against Manchester United.
The Danish SuperLiga side qualified for the knockout stages after finishing in second place in Group D behind Napoli but ahead of Club Brugge, United’s opponents in the Champions League play-offs. In an earlier Europa League round this term, Midtjylland knocked Southampton out over two legs by drawing 1-1 at St Mary’s and then winning 1-0 in Denmark. Jess Thorup’s side currently sit in third place in their domestic table, four points behind leaders FC Copenhagen.
One thing that could be in United’s favour is that Midtjylland are still on their winter break. In their last competitive match on 10 December, the Wolves secured passage to the Europa League knockout stages with a 1-1 home draw against Club Brugge, United’s Champions League qualifier opponents back in August. Currently third in the Superliga table, they return to league action on 29 February.
A place in next season’s Champions League is on offer for the winners of this competition and it’s a trophy Manchester United have never lifted, so the incentive is there to go all the way to May’s final in Basel.
Head to head
The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition.
Manchester United have previously faced three teams from Denmark, all in the Champions League – Aalborg (in 2008), Brondby (1998) and FC Copenhagen (2006). United have won four games, drawing once and losing on one occasion – 1-0 away to Copenhagen after a comfortable 3-0 win at Old Trafford.
Midtjylland have already won in Manchester during their short history, beating City 1-0 in 2008/09 before going out of the UEFA Cup on penalties after losing by the same scoreline at home. The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition.
Match Facts
- Midtjylland have played English opposition twice before in Europe, both in qualifiers. They knocked out Southampton to make the competition proper this season, but were dumped out of UEFA Cup qualifying by Man City in 2008/09.
- Manchester United have won four of their previous six matches against Danish opposition (D1 L1).
- The Red Devils three previous trips to Denmark have all been in the Champions League. They beat Brondby 6-2 on their way to lifting the European Cup in 1998/99, lost 1-0 to FC Copenhagen in 2006/07 and defeated Aalborg in 3-0 in their most recent visit.
- This is the third Europa League season in a row a Danish team has made the last 32 (Esbjerg in 2013/14, Aalborg in 2014/15) but both fell at this hurdle.
- United have appeared in the Europa League once before, seeing off Ajax in 2011/12 before falling to Athletic Bilbao in the Last 16.
- The Red Devils have kept two clean sheets in their last 13 away games in Europe, excluding qualifiers.
- The Danes conceded 12 times in the group stage, more than any other side to make the knockout round (not including Champions League qualifiers).
- Wayne Rooney scored three times in Manchester United’s last Europa League games against Athletic Bilbao in 2012, yet it wasn’t enough to get them through the tie.
Team News
Midtjylland
For the home side, Jakob Poulsen is suspended and fellow midfielder Petter Andersson is doubtful, while goalkeeper Johan Dahlin is definitely out.
Manchester United
Matteo Darmian faces another spell out of action after dislocating his shoulder at the weekend, but Marcos Rojo and Antonio Valencia are nearing a return. Ashley Young, Phil Jones and Adnan Januzaj missed the game at the Stadium of Light through injury, while Bastian Schweinsteiger and Luke Shaw remain sidelined.
From : SS.com
