Manchester United travel to Kazakhstan on Thursday to face Astana. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have already qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League, while Astana cannot progress from Group L.
Astana have lost each of their four games in the competition. The Kazakhstani team have only managed to score one goal in Group L and have conceded 14.
They kicked off their campaign with defeat to Manchester United. Astana were then beaten 2-1 by Partizan, before suffering back-to-back thrashings at the hands of AZ Alkmaar. The Dutch side beat Astana 6-0 in the Netherlands and recorded a 5-0 victory in Kazakhstan.
On the other hand, Manchester United are unbeaten in the Europa League this season. They have picked up 10 points from four games and are yet to concede a goal in the competition.
The English club followed up their opening-day win over Astana with a goalless draw against AZ Alkmaar. They then claimed a narrow victory in Belgrade on Matchday 3, before beating Partizan 3-0 at Old Trafford in the previous round.
Man Utd find themselves ninth in the Premier League table following a thrilling 3-3 draw with Sheffield United in their last match. The Red Devils came from two goals down to lead 3-2, only to concede a late equaliser.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be pleased with how his team responded to going behind, but disappointed that United were unable to hold on to their lead.
Manchester United’s Premier League record currently stands at W4/D5/L4. As this record suggests, the Red Devils have been extremely inconsistent this season.
Still, United have been clinical in front of goal in recent games. They have scored three goals or more in four of their last six matches, so expect them to come out firing in on Thursday.
🗓 A busy week of #UEL and #PL action awaits #MUFC...— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 25, 2019
🗓 A busy week of #UEL and #PL action awaits #MUFC...
Scott McTominay, Paul Pogba, Luke Shaw and Nemanja Matic are all doubts for the trip to Kazakhstan, while Eric Bailly remains a long-term absentee.
Astana will be relying on their dangermen, Marin Tomasov, to try and cause an unlikely upset. The Croatian scored 19 goals in 31 appearances in the 2019 Premier Liga season.
Astana were not outplayed in the reverse fixture, so we could see a close encounter this time around. With that being said, Manchester United should have more than enough quality to get the job done.
Forebet predicts that the English side will pick up the victory while keeping a clean sheet.