Preview

Nov

2024

Preview: The USMNT face Jamaica in Mauricio Pochettino’s competitive debut

The first of this season’s CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals is sure to attract a fair bit of interest, as it marks Mauricio Pochettino’s competitive debut in charge of the United States Men’s National Team. Away in Jamaica, they should expect a decent test.

By Neel Shelat

McClaren looking to get the Reggae Boyz on song

Former Manchester United assistant coach Steve McClaren has been in charge of Jamaica since the summer. He has overseen four matches so far, including two wins, away in Honduras and Nicaragua, and two goalless draws on home soil against Cuba and the Hondurans.

The Reggae Boyz were the clear favourites in each of those matches, so while those results are not bad, they are not particularly inspiring either. Indeed, Jamaica’s attacking play under McClaren has been subpar so far given the quality in his squad, so he will need to fix that if his side are to advance.

The good news is that he will get some reinforcements in terms of personnel. Most notably, star attacker Leon Bailey has accepted his call-up and should return to national team action for the first time in about a year, having gone on a self-imposed exile after a fallout with the previous head coach and federation. Newcastle United midfielder Isaac Hayden will likely make his debut after completing the process to switch nationalities, but the suspended Michail Antonio will be a big miss.

USMNT favourites with a strong head-to-head record

The USMNT have quite an impressive record against Jamaica, having lost on just three occasions in 33 meetings. They are unbeaten in competitive action since 2015, most recently scoring a dramatic turnaround victory in the last Nations League semi-final.

Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure did not get off the best of starts as his side suffered a 2-0 defeat in Mexico in the last international window, so he will aim to register his first away win in charge of the USMNT in the first leg of this quarterfinal. He was without a good few key players last month, so this tie should give us a first glimpse into what his first-choice line-up will actually look like.

One aspect that will likely remain up in the air is the striker position. The USMNT have consistently rotated between Folarin Balogun, Josh Sargeant and Haji Wright of late, but all three of them are out injured in this window. So, PSV striker Ricardo Pepi will likely lead the line, while one of the three Mexico-based forwards – namely Chivas’ Cade Cowell, Monterrey’s Brandon Vázquez and Club América’s Alejandro Zendejas – could well join Christian Pulisic and Timothy Weah if Pochettino uses a front four.

Prediction

The USMNT’s superior squad quality and head-to-head record means they have to be the clear favourites for this tie. Both sides have relatively new coaches and are bringing some new players into the mix, so their performances may well turn out to be a little disjointed – particularly in the first leg.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Concacaf Nations League live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2024

Preview: Lee Carsley’s England out for revenge in Greece

Until last month, England had never lost a match against Greece in men’s football.

By Karl Matchett

History lesson

History heavily favoured the Three Lions in results and in storylines; even when they didn’t win, they still did in effect, such as with David Beckham’s injury time equaliser to send England to the World Cup. Even in club-level meetings the most memorable occasions tend to see the Premier League outfits beat the Super League ones: Liverpool thrashing Panathinaikos in the ‘85 European Cup semi-final; Newcastle, Chelsea and Manchester United all knocking out Olympiacos at the same stage in the space of a decade; Liverpool and their infamous late comeback to beat the same Greek side in the group stage, en route to winning the Champions League. It was all so heavily one sided – until it wasn’t, a month ago, with Greece triumphing at Wembley with a poignant celebration of their efforts and the memory of George Baldock. The Nations League might not have the same standing as some of those other games, but for Greece it was a night to rival most in their history; for England, lessons must be learned.

Form

These Nations League games are the last under Lee Carsley before Thomas Tuchel takes charge for England, so while form isn’t of much importance, impressing for places is – and they want promotion back to League A of course. That means there’s no choice but to win this game to try and top the table, with second spot only offering a playoff. If Greece even draw, they are up.

Who’s left in the England squad?

England suffered eight injury withdrawals from the initial squad, the most notable of which were Trent Alexander-Arnold – man of the match three times in four games for Carsley – along with Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice. There will be first caps on offer across the fortnight, but whether any come in this game will depend largely on the type of midfield the interim boss wants. Greece will likely look very similar to during their Wembley win, with all 11 starters from October included in this squad – though the likes of Kostas Tsimikas and Fotis Ioannidis may hope to come in.

*Possible England XI built with the FotMob lineup builder – try it yourself at FotMob.com!*

Key players

For the hosts, Vangelis Pavlidis scored both goals at Wembley and is an obvious standout for inspection – at Benfica he’s actually more facilitator than scorer, with 2.1 chances created per 90 this term being better than any other similar forward in the Primeira.

As for England, injuries make a lineup tough to predict but Noni Madueke and Anthony Gordon look good shouts to start on the flanks and need to produce big games to improve their chances of nudging ahead of Saka, Phil Foden and the like. The Chelsea man’s non-penalty xG of 0.33/90 puts him ahead of 82% of similar players this term and 3.67 shots/90 is ahead of 93%. That’s a nice balance to Gordon’s crossing and creativity from the left.

Prediction

England to be somewhat more solid and disciplined than last time these sides met, enough to earn a win in a low-scoring game. 2-1 to the Three Lions.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every UEFA Nations League game with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2024

Preview: Chelsea and Arsenal provide the Sunday headliner at Stamford Bridge

Enzo Maresca’s young Chelsea side seek to throw another spanner in the works for Mikel Arteta as they prepare to take on Arsenal in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

By Alex Roberts

Arsenal are winless in their last three league games and risk falling further behind Liverpool and Man City in the race for the title, sitting in sixth, level on points with Chelsea after ten games.

As for Chelsea, a drab draw with Man United in game week ten could have been a lot worse given the circumstances, but Maresca will no doubt still feel disappointed they were unable to make the most of some favourable results around them.

Life without Cole Palmer

Chelsea have been lucky; they’ve rarely had to think about a game without talismanic forward Cole Palmer. That might be about to change after he picked up a knock in their draw with Man United.

Palmer has played almost every Premier League minute for Chelsea so far this season, his only respite coming after being substituted in their 3-0 win over West Ham having scored their third goal.

Maresca’s side have a wealth of talent, summer signing João Félix is their second-choice number ten. He’s a similar type of player to Palmer, but without his end product, Chelsea will be worried if Palmer is not fit to start at the Bridge.

*Cole Palmer shot map, Premier League 2024/25*

Martin Ødegaard’s timely return

The Arsenal captain has been out of action since early September after picking up a serious ankle injury in Norway’s 2-1 UEFA Nations League victory over Austria but is set to return to the fold.

In desperate need of his creativity, Arteta’s side have the second-worst Premier League scoring record amongst the traditional ‘top six’ with 17 goals, eight more than struggling Manchester United.

Ødegaard’s return will restore balance to Arsenal midfield. His close control and innate ability to pick out a pass with no doubt give the likes of Moisés Caicedo lots to think about.

Moisés Caicedo starting to justify his price tag

A successful £100 million+ player is rare, especially at Chelsea, however, after an underwhelming start to life at the club last season, Caicedo is starting to buck the trend.

His volley against Man United got all the headlines, but his overall performance was as good as we’ve seen from him in a Chelsea shirt. Ending the game having won eight ground duels, made four recoveries, and four passes into the final third.

Partnered alongside Romeo Lavia, he has given the club a totally different dynamic to their midfield, adding more physicality while still maintaining a creative outlet, he’s managed to provide two assists too.

The Ecuadorian may be the N’golo Kanté replacement Chelsea thought they were signing all along.

Prediction

It’s hard to look beyond Arsenal for this one. Arteta has a ridiculous record at Stamford Bridge, winning three and drawing one of his previous four Premier League games at the ground.

Not only does he have a history, he has a cause. Determined to turn their faltering title challenge around, expect Arteta to pull out all the stops to secure victory.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2024

Preview: High-flying Barcelona travel to Real Sociedad

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, the Estadio de Anoeta was one of the most daunting stadiums for any FC Barcelona player.

By Zach Lowy

Between September 2007 and December 2016, Barcelona failed to win any of their eight trips to Real Sociedad, before finally breaking the duck in a 1-0 win in the Copa del Rey. Since then, Barcelona have prevailed in six of their last seven trips to San Sebastián, and they’ll be looking to continue that streak on Sunday.

Barça’s Attack Clicking on all Cylinders

After starting the Hansi Flick era with three straight 2-1 victories, Barcelona headed into the September international break with a 7-0 thrashing of Real Valladolid, a momentous result that has set the tone for the opening weeks. 10 of Barcelona’s last 13 matches have featured at least four goals, with the Blaugranas scoring 3+ goals in each of their last seven. They are blowing away the competition, sitting six points clear of Real Madrid and 10 above Atlético Madrid thanks to a sensational attacking output that has seen them rack up 40 goals and win 11 of their first 12 league matches under Flick.

Raphinha the Man to Watch

Raphinha isn’t the kind of man who forgets. When Barcelona fans took to social media to post doctored images of Athletic Club winger Nico Williams wearing the #11, Raphinha used that disrespect as fuel and has quickly emerged as one of the most in-form players in world football. Since beginning October with a goal and an assist vs. Young Boys, the Brazilian has racked up at least one goal contribution in each of his last six matches for Barcelona, including a hat-trick vs. Bayern Munich, a brace of assists vs. Alavés, and a goal and an assist vs. Real Madrid.

After setting up both of Barcelona’s first two goals in Serbia, Raphinha stretched Barcelona’s lead to three en route to a 5-2 drubbing of Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday. The signs are promising as he looks to find the back of the net for the fifth match in a row.

Can La Real Shake off Recent Woes?

It has been just over a year since Real Sociedad finished fourth and ended a decade-long Champions League drought. Today, however, the Basque side find themselves in 11th place in LaLiga. What’s more, after losing 2-1 to Viktoria Plzeň on Thursday, they are currently outside of the 24 Europa League knockout playoff spots.

So far this season, Imanol Alguacil’s side have actually done better on the road than at home. Whilst they’ve won four away matches this season, their sole home win out of seven attempts came on September 28 in a 3-0 thrashing of Valencia. The odds are not in their favour as they take on a Barcelona side that seems to be cruising to a second LaLiga title in three years.

Prediction

Barça have won seven of their last eight matches vs. La Real, and there’s no reason to believe that pattern will not continue on Sunday.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from LaLiga with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2024

Preview: Man United face Leicester with Van Nistelrooy aiming to sign off with a win

The last match of the short-lived Ruud van Nistelrooy era at Manchester United takes place on Sunday and ends as it started: at home to Leicester City.

By Karl Matchett

The Foxes visited Old Trafford in the Carabao Cup a few weeks ago and the Red Devils managed to shrug off the long-overdue exit of Erik ten Hag with a win; that fixture sparked a three-game unbeaten run so far and Van Nistelrooy will be eager to sign off by making it four, ahead of Rúben Amorim joining during the international break. With just two places and two points between the teams ahead of kick-off though, that’s still easier said than done for a United side which is set for yet more upheaval.

Inconsistent at home against poor travellers

Despite the recent improvement in results, United can’t exactly point to a body of work which screams “home three points”. A few weeks ago we noted here about their historical home form; it’s now more than 11 months since they won back-to-back league fixtures at Old Trafford in the same season. They’ve won just one of the last four on home soil in the Premier League and three of the last 11 in all competitions.

Leicester are without a win in three themselves, but rescued an injury-time draw last weekend at Ipswich following defeat to two of the Premier League’s top three beforehand. Wins are hard to come by on the road for the Foxes though; even dating back into last term in the Championship, it’s only three wins in 13 across all competitions.

Team news

No real change for Man United in terms of injuries means a continually stretched defence, with Leny Yoro, Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire and Tyrell Malacia sidelined. Kobbie Mainoo is also out and Amad Diallo needs a fitness check after scoring twice and being subbed off in midweek. Leicester are missing Patson Daka and Jakub Stolarczyk but should otherwise be at full strength.

Key players starting to fire?

There’s no doubting United’s key pair at the moment, with André Onana remaining in fine form at one end and Bruno Fernandes finally having more impact at the other. It remains incredible that nobody other than Alejandro Garnacho (two goals) has scored more than once for United in the league this term, but Fernandes netted his first of the campaign from the penalty spot last time out and claimed an assist against Brentford two games prior. As he’s top of United’s charts for xG (3.8), big chances created (7), chances created (15) and xA (1.8) he’s the one they need to maximise when confidence is flowing. That said, he only ranks in the top dozen Premier League players in one of those areas (big chances) which only underlines how poor United have been.

While Leicester’s must be a team-wide approach to earn a result, Facundo Buonanotte is the one to watch, being first or second for chances created (14), big chances (4), goals and assists (5), shots per 90 (2.8) and possession won in the final third (1.3).

Prediction

United might feel they’re on the cusp of a new dawn and scraping a win here will add to the momentum.

United 2-1 Leicester.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every Premier League game with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2024

Preview: Liverpool and Villa round off Saturday in the Premier League

This week’s evening kick-off sees table-toppers Liverpool face Champions League chasers Aston Villa at Anfield. In this fixture last season, the Reds came out on top with a comfortable 3-0 victory.

By Matt Smith

Diogo Jota remains on the treatment table

As Arne Slot’s side prepare to face Villa, they will be without Portuguese forward Diogo Jota, who has already missed their previous five fixtures. Slot recently confirmed that he’s expected to return after the international break, but the Dutch manager has plenty of options to choose from in attack.
Federico Chiesa is also expected to remain on the treatment table and could also return after the two-week hiatus. In the Champions League during the week, Luis Díaz netted a second-half hat-trick, so he has built a case to keep his place.

The Reds are in fine form

Slot’s start to life at Anfield has likely gone better than he could ever have imagined. Liverpool currently sit top of the Premier League table, two points clear of Manchester City, and it’s not by chance. The Merseyside outfit have created 18.4 xG in their 10 games while also producing more big chances (37) than any other side.

Scoring goals has rarely been an issue for Liverpool considering the attacking options they have, but their defensive solidity has improved drastically this term. The Reds have conceded fewer goals and xG than any other side in the Premier League this season.

Emery boosted by double return

In recent weeks, Unai Emery has seen two long-term absentees return to action in Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings. The Villa duo have been forced to watch from the stands for a significant period after both picking up serious knee injuries.

Emery is likely to be without both Matty Cash and Ross Barkley, but other than that, the Spanish manager has a strong squad to pick from ahead of Villa. Mings and Kamara both started in the Champions League during the week, building up their fitness ahead of Saturday.

Creativity has to improve

Although the Villans are battling for the top-four places once again this season, Emery will be desperate to see more from his side in the final third. The Midlands outfit are defending well, but they’ve created just 15.4 xG.

One player who is becoming a key cog in Emery’s machine is Youri Tielemans. Although playing in a deeper midfield role, the Belgian international has provided three assists this season, creating 22 chances as he’s given plenty of freedom in the middle of the park.

*Tielemans passing stats, Premier League 2024/25*

Liverpool too hot to handle

Villa are undoubtedly one of the toughest teams to face in the Premier League at the moment, but taking points off Liverpool is a difficult task. The Reds are in fine form, losing just once this term, so a home win shouldn’t be a surprise. A 2-0 Liverpool win is my prediction with Díaz likely to be involved in the goalscoring after his impressive display during the week.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2024

Preview: City need to snap losing run at Brighton

Pep Guardiola is in unfamiliar territory after three consecutive defeats across Manchester City’s most recent games in Carabao Cup, the Premier League, and Champions League.

By Ian King

Historic grudge match for those with long memories

There is a little bit of ancient history here, in that City relegated Brighton from the top flight on the penultimate weekend of the 1982/83 season by winning 1-0 at The Goldstone Ground. City might have considered that to be revenge for Brighton beating them 4-0 in the FA Cup earlier that season, but were relegated themselves a week later.

More recently, Albion’s record against City has been atrocious since their 2017 return to the top flight. They’ve only beaten them once, at the very end of the 2020/21 season, with their opponents having already wrapped up the Premier League title for that season. City have won every other meeting between them bar one, when the two teams played out a 1-1 draw at the Amex in May 2023.

*H2H results, since FotMob records began (2010)*

The present day

The history books may not be encouraging for Brighton, but current form offers them greater hope. While they may have ultimately lost at Anfield last weekend, this was their first defeat in four, and they’ve already beaten Manchester United, Newcastle and Spurs so far.

Meanwhile, Manchester City need a win. Those hoping that their recent blip had bottomed out with last weekend’s defeat at Bournemouth ended up doubly disappointed after they were well-beaten in their midweek Champions League trip to Lisbon; they’ve now lost three in a row for the first time since 2018. There is a case for saying that City do this at some point every season, but there were few signs of improvement on Tuesday night.

Key players

For Brighton so far this season, Danny Welbeck has indeed been ‘Dat Guy’, with six goals and two assists in his first ten games. But more broadly, the key to the home team’s threat is that it can come from so many sources. Nine different players have contributed to their twelve assists so far.

Injury-ravaged though they are, Manchester City are still glittered with stardust. Phil Foden scored their early opener against Sporting, and they could do with a big performance from him on Saturday evening.

Injury news

City are still in an injury crisis but the pressure is starting to ease slightly, with Kevin De Bruyne making a brief appearance in midweek which has led to speculation that he will soon be returning to the first team. Rúben Dias and John Stones are still missing, though, and the lack of that defensive pair has been hurting them. Brighton could welcome back Yankuba Minteh and João Pedro, though Adam Webster, James Milner and Solly March all remain absent.

Prediction

Brighton’s historical record against City may be dreadful, but so was Bournemouth’s going into their meeting with them last weekend, and we all know what happened there. Should it happen, the return of De Bruyne may give them a little more zest in attack, but Brighton’s array of attacking options will be a tough test for a makeshift defence, so a score draw may be the final outcome.

Prediction: Brighton 2-2 Manchester City

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2024

Preview: Madrid looking to avert a crisis as Osasuna visit the capital

Can Osasuna pile on the misery for Real Madrid and put an end to their struggles at the Bernabéu?

By Filip Mishov

Troublesome times for the hosts

As if the damning defeat to Barcelona in El Clásico (0-4) and controversy around the Ballon d’Or ceremony were not enough for Florentino Perez & co. over the past couple of weeks, AC Milan piled on the misery at the Bernabéu by outplaying the reigning champions in the Champions League and taking home a 3-1 win on Tuesday night. With back-to-back home defeats, it is fair to say that frustrations are running high both on and off the pitch for Madrid, and the rumours around Kylian Mbappé‘s unhappiness at his new club are really not helping.

High-flying Los Rojillos are coming to Spain’s capital on the back of three consecutive victories between in league and cup, and with only three points separating the Vicente Moreno-led squad from Los Blancos (although with a game in hand) after exceeding anyone’s expectations at the start of the season. However, the Basque-based club’s record against Madrid is not one to be proud of as Osasuna‘s last win dates back to 2011 and for their last win away from home you have to go all the way back to 2004. But at the same time, Osasuna are the only side to beat high-flying league leaders Barcelona this season, which surely gives flying winger Bryan Zaragoza & co. the confidence to cause another upset.

Madrid’s injury list

The Madrid-based club’s defeat to the Rossoneri came at an additional cost as Aurélien Tchouaméni suffered an injury and the tenacious Frenchman is set to be out for at least four weeks with a sprained ankle. The defensive midfielder joins Thibaut Courtois, David Alaba and Daniel Carvajal on the sidelines, while even though Federico Valverde was replaced at half-time, the Uruguayan is said to be ready for Saturday’s clash. Unlike Carlo Ancelotti, Vicente Moreno has a full squad available to pick from as there are no injury concerns within Osasuna’s dressing room.

Players to watch

After enduring a slow start to the season, Ante Budimir truly came to life against Barcelona with the experienced striker scoring a brace in Osasuna’s memorable win (4-2) back in late September. Additionally, the 33-year-old scored the winning goal (1-0) against Real Valladolid last weekend and found the net against Real Sociedad the weekend before. The Croatian target man is the joint-third top scorer in LaLiga with six goals, just like Mbappé, Madrid’s no. 9, and with Antonio Rüdiger‘s slump in form as well as abysmal positioning in recent matches, guarding Budimir will be a tricky task for the centre-back and his partner.

Prediction

Even though Real Madrid are viably struggling at the moment and Osasuna are flying high on confidence, it is hard to look past or bet against the world-class quality within Ancelotti’s squad. Furthermore, Los Rojillos’ record at the Bernabéu is discouraging to say the least, and although one cannot expect a goal fest given their recent low-scoring attacking output, a narrow win for Los Blancos is the most realistic scenario. Anything less, and especially if Osasuna were to inflict a third straight home defeat on Madrid, then it would undoubtably be crisis time in the Spanish capital.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from LaLiga with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2024

Preview: Spurs travel to Turkish league leaders Galatasaray in the Europa League

Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur are starting to pick up some momentum and they could have an excellent chance of going top of the Europa League when they take on Galatasaray on Thursday.

By Kaustubh Pandey

Spurs have won their last two games in all competitions, eliminating Manchester City from the League Cup and handing out a 4-1 drubbing to Aston Villa in the Premier League.

They have won all three of their previous games in the Europa League but Galatasaray could prove to be a fresh challenge for the London giants.

Gala reigning supreme in Turkey

Okan Buruk‘s Gala have been very impressive so far this season. They remain unbeaten in the Turkish Süper Lig, they’ve tasted victory over José Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe, all while scoring the most goals and conceding just nine times in 10 games.

In fact, the last time they lost was against Young Boys in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers and it has been smooth sailing since then, with their most recent game yielding a 2-1 win over fierce rivals Beşiktaş.

The side’s setup focuses on pressing high up the pitch and playing through the lines quickly and while Buruk has used a 4-2-3-1 setup, he used a flat 4-2-2-2 shape against Beşiktaş, which suggests that he isn’t averse to adapting.

Tottenham to face some familiar faces

Spurs fans will be familiar with at least a couple of faces during the game against Gala, both of whom have history with Tottenham.

*Galatasaray’s best rated players, Süper Lig 2024/25*

Former defender Davinson Sánchez has been a key performer in the season so far, as he scored against Beşiktaş at the weekend. Ex-Arsenal man Lucas Torreira has also shown some consistency, as he comes up against the Lilywhites years after scoring a winning goal against them during Spurs’ Mauricio Pochettino-era.

The man to be scared of though, is Victor Osimhen. The Napoli loanee is arguably one of the best strikers in the world and like Sánchez, he had also scored against Beşiktaş. So far in the campaign, he has four goals across all competitions while fellow marksman Mauro Icardi has just as many.

It is Osimhen who is expected to start for Gala and both Torreira and Sánchez will also feature. Only Ismail Jakobs is absent for Buruk’s side and keeper Fernando Muslera is back in contention.

Spurs may look to rotate

The last week has seen Postecoglou rotate his side, as James Maddison only came off the bench against Aston Villa and Mikey Moore remained on the sidelines for the weekend clash against Villa. Heung Min-Son and Timo Werner also rotated and it suggests that Tottenham will likely make chan get to keep their side fresh for Thursday.

Cristian Romero picked up an injury at the weekend, days after Micky van de Ven was also injured in mid-week, meaning that Ben Davies will start alongside Radu Drăgușin. Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray should also feature.

Prediction

The Ali Sami Yen Stadium is always a difficult place to go to but Spurs’ run of form should give them confidence, and that, combined with their ability to create constant chances is likely to put them in good stead for a close, yet thrilling away win.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Europa League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2024

Preview: Manchester United looking to end run of draws in the Europa League

Can Ruud lift the underperforming Red Devils to ensure himself a role at Old Trafford beyond this next week?

By Filip Mishov

United looking to maintain their home record against Greek opposition

Ruud van Nistelrooy‘s Red Army was roaring at Old Trafford with the flying Dutchman’s fists pumping the air in jubilation as Bruno Fernandes masterfully converted his penalty against Chelsea, but the Red Devils’ interim head coach better not get used to the feeling as the former striker only has a couple of matches left before Rúben Amorim takes over the reins next week. With that being said, Nistelrooy’s task is to get the squad back on the winning track, both in the Premier League and the Europa League, in the hope that such a feat can earn him a place to stay on in some capacity under the Portuguese coach.

Manchester United await a first-ever meeting against the reigning Greek champions – PAOK Thessaloniki FC, boasting an excellent record against Greek opponents in the UEFA’s club competitions. In 12 matches (9W, 2D, 1L) over the years, the Red Devils are unbeaten at the Theatre of Dreams against Greek opposition and have suffered only one defeat, to Olympiacos in Athens back in 2014, who coincidentally PAOK play next in the Super League, in what is one of the biggest games in the country.

The White and Blacks are standing firm in their bid to defend the title in Greece’s top-tier and the Razvan Lucescu-led squad are sat second in the standings, a point behind their arch-rivals, Aris. However, PAOK’s start in the Europa League’s league phase reads worse than United’s with a couple of defeats and one draw on board, leaving them out of the play-off’s places.

A familiar face may line up for the visitors

The hosts’ injury list is still bloated with Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo all ruled out, but some of the players are set to return with Christian Eriksen and Antony spearheading the positive news, while Leny Yoro, Tyrell Malacia and Mason Mount are back in group training and the trio are edging closer to a comeback, possibly only after the international break. However, the captain – Fernandes is available for selection after serving a one-match suspension due to getting sent off at Porto.

For PAOK, Razvan Lucescu has almost a full squad at his disposal with only a couple of players doubtful (Antonis Tsiftsis, Tiemoué Bakayoko). Perhaps most interestingly, former-United prospect Shola Shoretire, who rejected a new contract and moved to Thessaloniki over the summer could feature for PAOK. The Englishman is slowly but surely finding his feet and scored his debut goal in the Greek Cup last week.

Key player

Alejandro Garnacho has been Manchester United’s most effective player since the start of the season, with 10 goal contributions (6G/4A) in 16 matches (all comps), but the Argentinean wonderkid is beginning to look weary amid his extended playing time, as was evident in his decision-making during last weekend’s draw against Chelsea. Even though Garnacho remains Nistelrooy’s most dangerous player, it will be interesting to see whether the interim boss drops him after putting in one of his poorer performances in a red shirt. That is not to doubt the no. 17’s undeniable talent, but Ruud’s gamble with him staying on instead of Marcus Rashford did not pay off, and may have cost his side the win.

*Possible XI made with the lineup builder available on FotMob.com*

Prediction

After recording three disappointing draws in the opening three rounds of the Europa League’s league stage, the Red Devils desperately need a win to start climbing the table. Erik ten Hag‘s dismal record in the European competitions was one of the many factors behind his sacking, but his compatriot has a chance to improve on that, and enhance his chances of staying in Manchester with a victory. With United’s excellent record against Greek clubs, anything other than an extension of that would be a failure, and even though PAOK may not pose the same threat as Porto and Fenerbahçe, their passionate and loud supporters will fearlessly back them to cause a upset at Old Trafford.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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