Manchester United are just one game away from the 2016/17 Europa League final in Stockholm. Jose Mourinho’s team started the competition as favourites and look set to live up to that tag by booking a place in the show-piece event.
Celta Vigo have done well the get this far in the tournament but will be disappointed not to have made more of home advantage in the first leg. The Estadio de Balaídos was packed and a passionate crowd was ready to push their team on towards an upset.
However, it didn’t take long for Manchester United to take control of the match and the visitors could easily have been a couple of goals ahead by half-time. Having wasted several good chances to score in open play, Marcus Rashford finally broke the deadlock with a tremendous free-kick.
That’s where the goals ended and Manchester United take a slender 1-0 lead with them into the second leg at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils long unbeaten run came to an end in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, as they went down 2-0 at Arsenal. Mourinho opted to rotate his team for that match and with the likes of Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford on the bench, two of Manchester United’s best players in the first leg of this tie, it was always going to be a difficult game to win.
At home, trends show Manchester United are unbeaten in their last twenty-eight games in all competitions. Eighteen of those games have ended with a win and ten have ended in a draw and it’s the draws which have cost Manchester United at home this season.
However, in the Europa League Manchester United have won their previous six home matches, all of which have come this season.
Having tasted defeat at home in the first leg of this tie, Celta Vigo slumped to a 3-0 defeat at Malaga in La Liga on the weekend. Eduardo Berizzo made changes to the starting XI for this match and the first-choice strike force of John Guidetti and Iago Aspas were left on the bench.
Although this match is clearly the biggest game of the season for Celta Vigo, they have now gone six games without a win, losing the last five and that must be a concern heading to Old Trafford.
Away from home, Celta Vigo have won one of their last five games and are unbeaten in their last four in the Europa League. The Spanish club have defeated Panathinaikos, Shakhtar Donetsk and Krasnodar 2-0, a result which would be good enough to see them progress to the final.
Antonio Valencia, Paul Pogba, Daley Blind, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard were all rested on the weekend and are expected to start the match for Manchester United. Giuseppe Rossi is the only long-term injury for Celta Vigo, who are also expected to make major changes to the team which started on the weekend.
Manchester United have struggled at home this season and required extra-time to see off Anderlecht in the previous round. It’s unlikely they are going to brush aside Celta Vigo and we could be in for another nervy night at Old Trafford.
However, Manchester United showed their superiority in the first leg and should have enough to win this match by one goal, sealing a place in the Europa League final.