Manchester United resume their quest for Europa League success on Thursday when they come up against Granada in the first leg of their quarter-final battle at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes.
The Spanish surprise package dumped Molde out of the tournament to advance to the last eight, whereas Man United overcame AC Milan 2-1 on aggregate in the last 16.
Match preview
© Reuters
Granada's phenomenal rise to stardom is showing no signs of slowing down, as a 2-0 victory in the first leg of their last-16 battle with Molde gave them a significant advantage heading into the second leg against the Norwegian outfit.
Molde managed to come up trumps 2-1 in that game, but the damage was done in the first leg and the away goal scored by the veteran Roberto Soldado proved pivotal on the night, as Granada ensured that their first ever season in continental competition would be a memorable one.
Diego Martinez's side also overcame Napoli by a 3-2 aggregate scoreline earlier in the tournament, but they head into the first leg of their tie with Man United on the back of two successive defeats in La Liga, with Valencia and Villarreal both getting the better of Granada in recent weeks.
The weekend's defeat to Unai Emery's men - with Gerard Moreno scoring all three goals in a 3-0 win for the Yellow Submarine - ended a run of four home wins on the trot for Granada, who have only lost one of their six Europa League games at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes so far.
During that run, Martinez's side have shipped just two continental goals on familiar territory, but with only four wins to boast from their last 14 across all competitions, Granada are not exactly the in-form team stepping out onto the Spanish turf this Thursday.
© Reuters
The Red Devils were second best for the first 45 minutes of their battle with Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday night, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men turned the screw in the second half to run out 2-1 winners in a hard-fought Premier League contest.
After Danny Welbeck once again returned to Old Trafford to haunt his former club, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood popped up with vital strikes in the second period to extend Man United's unbeaten run in the Premier League to 10 matches, although they have very little to play for domestically as Manchester City are 14 points clear at the summit.
As a result, the Europa League is without question Solskjaer's best opportunity to claim his first piece of silverware in the Old Trafford dugout, and the Norwegian had Paul Pogba to thank in their last-16 battle with AC Milan, as the Frenchman's winner at San Siro propelled the Red Devils to a 2-1 aggregate triumph.
Since dropping down from the Champions League, United have only conceded one goal in their four Europa League matches and have been handed a rather favourable draw in the quarter-finals, but Solskjaer more than anyone will know the dangers of underestimating their opponents this week.
Granada and Man United have never locked horns before, but Solskjaer's side have scored five and conceded a grand total of zero goals in their two Europa League matches away from home this season, and they will not be prepared to let their clean sheet record slip with European success potentially on the horizon.
- L
- D
- W
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
- L
- L
- L
- W
- L
- W
- D
- D
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Granada manager Martinez is having to work around a mini injury crisis, as he has done for most of the season, and he could be without three of his full-backs in Carlos Neva, Dimitri Foulquier and Quini - the latter of whom is ineligible.
Neyder Lozano is another long-term absentee for the hosts, although he is also ineligible anyway, while his compatriot Luis Suarez has little chance of being fit due to a hamstring problem.
Soldado therefore looks set for a reunion with a Premier League side as he leads the line this week, and another familiar face in Kenedy is expected to start out wide for the hosts.
Man United have been rocked by the news that Anthony Martial could miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury, and Marcus Rashford's involvement is up in the air after he came off injured with a knock against Brighton, although the Englishman has made the journey.
Pogba has previously featured on the left-hand side and could do so again if Rashford is not passed fit, although Daniel James is a more likely candidate for that position having started all four Europa League games so far.
Alex Telles missed out at the weekend through non-COVID related illness and remains a doubt for this game, but Eric Bailly has contracted the virus and is unavailable for the visitors.
Granada possible starting lineup:
Silva; Vallejo, Duarte, Sanchez, Diaz; Gonalons, Eteki; Kenedy, Herrera, Machis; Soldado
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Fred, Pogba; Greenwood, Fernandes, James; Cavani
We say: Granada 0-2 Manchester United
United cannot afford to start this game in the same way that they did against Brighton, but confidence cannot be high in the Granada camp after back-to-back league defeats. The hosts have earned their right to be here, although they are afflicted with numerous injuries and the Red Devils are renowned for their impressive performances on the road, so we can only back a comfortable first-leg triumph for Solskjaer's side.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester United win with a probability of 47.64%. A win for Granada had a probability of 28.59% and a draw had a probability of 23.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Manchester United win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.42%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (8.67%) and 0-2 (7.4%). The likeliest Granada win was 2-1 (7.02%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.03%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 7.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Manchester United would win this match.
