Manchester United will resume their quest for Europa League glory as we head to Spain to take on Granada in the quarter-finals first leg tie. This is only potential silverware that we could possibly achieve after being knocked out of the FA Cup against Leicester City before the international break.

United come into this game off the back of the 2-1 league win against Brighton & Hove Albion. The Reds did not have it all their own way as we were very much second best in the first half. But we turned it around in the second half to gain all three points as we looked to secure Champions League qualification come the end of the season.

Former United player Danny Welbeck returned to haunt his old club as he opened the proceedings to give Brighton the lead. Goals from Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood in the second half ensure that we extended our unbeaten run in the Premier League to 10 games. The title challenge is over as our rivals and league leaders Manchester City have a 14 point gap over us.

The Europa League represents the best opportunity for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær to grab his first trophy with the club. It was thanks to Paul Pogba that we achieve victory over AC Milan in the previous round of the competition as his winner at the San Siro meant we triumphed 2-1 on aggregate.

Since we fell out of the Champions League group stages, we only have conceded one goal in the last four Europa League matches. It could be argued we have been handed a favourable draw against Granada. However, United and Solskjær know best not to underestimate our Spanish opponents.

This will be the first-ever meeting between the sides. United has scored five and conceded no goals in the last two Europa League away games.  We will want to come away from this first leg with another clean sheet.

Opposition Preview

Granada arrived into the quarter-final stages of the competition having dumped out Norweigan side Molde in the previous round. They held a 2-0 from the first leg, which gave them a great advantage in the second leg. Though they lost the leg 2-1, it was the away goal scored by former Tottenham player Roberto Soldado that proved crucial.

They have also knocked out Napoli earlier in the competition with a 3-2 win. As they come into this first leg tie against United, they have had two successive defeats in La Liga losing to both Valencia and Villarreal. This had ended a run of four home wins for Granada. They have only lost one of their six Europa League games at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes

Granada vs Manchester United Details

Teams: Granada vs Manchester United

Date: April 8th, 2020 (Thursday)

KO Time: 20:00 GMT

Competition: UEFA Europa League

Stadium: Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes

Referee: Artur Dias

Managers: Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Diego Martínez

Manchester United Team News

As for United, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær did reveal that he would be very surprised if we see Anthony Martial before the end of the season given the knee injury he picked up on international duty. He said, “Anthony has started his recovery and, if we see him before the end of the season, I will be very surprised. But, of course, he is determined to come back as quickly as he can. There are important games for us before the end of the season and then there are the Euros [with France, in the summer].”

“He has already come in [to the training ground], he is bright around the place. [He’s] disappointed he can’t help us now, but, of course, he wants to work to get back as quickly as possible.”

Juan Mata and Alex Telles are back from their respective injury and illness. Eric Bailly remains out after he tested positive for covid-19. Solskjær will have to make a decision on Marcus Rashford as either a starter or a sub. He had been taking off as a precaution in the second half of the Brighton game.

Granada vs Manchester United Pre-Match Press Conference

During the pre-match press conference, Ole was asked about our opponents ahead of the game. He said, “I watched their games, of course, and I’ve spoken to some of them [friends at Molde], [who have given] some good insight and good info. Of course, we’ve analysed them ourselves and we’ve watched their last few games as well. It’s a team full of experience, unbelievable character and spirit, which you expect from teams that come up. They got promoted in ’18/19, great season [in] ’19/20 and this is the second season. I think they’re one of the teams in Euorpe that have played the most games and to do that at this level so early has been impressive and we know it’s going to be a battle.”

Victor Lindelof who joined Ole in the press conference was asked how keen he was to make his mark in this competition. He said, “Obviously, we go into this game with the mentality to win it and to go through. You know, it’s a game where we want to go there and perform. We know it’s going to be a tough game. First and foremost, win the game so we can get a good result for the second leg. Obviously, every time you play in a competition you go in because you want to win it. Like you said, we haven’t quite been able to do that in the past but hopefully we can perform a bit better this season.”

Granda Team News

For our opponents, they currently have a mini injury crisis. Manager Diego Martinez ruled out three players when speaking at his press conference. Luis Milla, Alberto Soro and Neyder Lozano will be missing, with Martinez saying: “We cannot confuse the desire that they are available with that they are prepared to compete at the highest level. If it is not for Thursday, they are for Sunday [in La Liga] or for next Thursday. It’s one thing to be available and another to be at full capacity and with the best performance for a top-level match.”

Robert Soldado who previously played for Tottenham is expected to lead the attacking line for Granada.

Form Guide

Manchester United Europa League form: WLWDDW

Manchester United form (all competitions): WDWWLW

Granada Europa League form: LWDLWL

Granada form (all competitions): LWWLLL

Interesting Facts

• Granada will be the 11th different Spanish side Manchester United has faced in major European competition. (source: Opta).
• Manchester United has reached the quarter-final stages of a major European competition for the 27th time, progressing from 17 of the previous 26. (source: Opta)
• Manchester United has scored 21 goals in European competition this season, with 13 of them being scored by either Marcus Rashford (seven goals) or Bruno Fernandes (six goals). (source: Opta)
• Since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over, Manchester United have made it to every Quarter-Final stage of every possible cup competition.
• If United beat Granada this would be the first time since 2008/09 that they would reach back-to-back European Semi-Finals.

Granada vs Manchester United Predicted Lineup

De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Fred, Pogba; Greenwood, Fernandes, James, and Cavani.

Prediction

We cannot start this game the way did against Brighton otherwise we will get caught out again. United has had some impressive performances on the road this season. We will want to continue this on Thursday evening. The Europa League represents our only chance to grab some silverware at the end of the season. If we were to achieve this and second place in the league, it would be counted as a good season.

Predicted Score

Granada 0-2 Manchester United