We are at the business end of the major European trophies this season. Having completed the first leg in Vigo last week, Manchester United have a 1-0 lead heading into the second leg of the Europa League semi-final tie with Celta Vigo.
Jose Mourinho was pleased with his team’s performance in the first leg, in-front of a passionate home crowd. Celta Vigo failed to take advantage of the first leg being at the Estadio de Balaídos and slumped to a 1-0 defeat.
Manchester United were much the better team on the night and could have come away with a bigger margin of victory. The visitors wasted many chances in the first half and could have been 3-0 up at the interval. Instead they needed a fantastic Marcus Rashford free-kick in the second half to seal the victory.
Manchester United vs. Celta Vigo
Europa League – Thursday 11th May 2017 – 9:05pm
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Draw Best Odd of: 16/5 at Ladbrokes |
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Manchester United
Celta VigoManchester United Form
Manchester United slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal on the weekend in the Premier League. Mourinho chose to keep the likes of Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford out of the starting XI, with one eye on this fixture.
At home, Manchester United are unbeaten in their previous 28 matches in all competitions. While this is a good record, only 18 of those games have ended in victories for the home team, with 10 of them ending in draws. It’s these draws which have cost Manchester United domestically this season.
In the Europa League Manchester United have won all 6 of their home matches this season but required extra-time to see off a stubborn Anderlecht in the previous round.
Celta Vigo Form
Celta Vigo lost their domestic league fixture on the weekend, going down 3-0 to Malaga. Eduardo Berizzo also made changes to his starting XI but that result means it is now 6 games without a win for his team and that’s not good form going into a must-win game at Old Trafford.
Away from home in the Europa League form has been good and Celta Vigo have won 4 and drawn 1 of their last 5 games on the road. The victories were all by a score of 2-0 and came at Panathinaikos, Shakhtar Donetsk and Krasnodar.
However, recent away form in all competitions has not been good, with Celta Vigo winning 1 of their last 5 games.
Team News
Manchester United are expected to make several changes from the team which started in the Premier League against Arsenal. Antonio Valencia, Paul Pogba, Daley Blind, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard are all expected to come back into the starting XI for this game.
Celta Vigo also rested players in La Liga on the weekend and will welcome back the likes of John Guidetti and Iago Aspas to their starting XI. Giuseppe Rossi is the only player who will definitely miss the game.
Top Betting Tips – Squeaky Bum Time at Old Trafford
Manchester United have failed to blow teams away at Old Trafford this season. Only 1 of their previous 8 home games in all competitions has ended in a margin of victory greater than 1 goal. You can get 5/2 at Ladbrokes for Manchester United to win the match by 1 goal.
Given their current form, it’s difficult to imagine Celta Vigo winning this game but having seen Anderlecht draw 1-1, they will feel capable of making things uncomfortable for the hosts. PaddyPower offer 10/3 for the match to end level. You can also get 15/2 with BetVictor for the match to end 1-1.
Neither team are finding the back of the net with any conviction and this game is unlikely to be full of goals. There have been fewer than 3 goals in 6 of the last 7 games at Old Trafford and under 2.5 goals is available at Evens with Ladbrokes.