Manchester United are just three steps away from lifting a first trophy under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The club dispatched LASK Linz in the last 16 of the tournament and now head to Germany for the quarterfinals of the competition to face Denmark’s FC Copenhagen.
Critics of Manchester United will scoff at the club’s last 16 and quarterfinal draws in the Europa League. While clubs such as Inter Milan and Bayer Leverkusen will meet as well as Wolverhampton Wanderers playing Sevilla, the Red Devils have arguably been handed the easiest opponent left in the tournament.
FC Copenhagen will still offer a fight to the Red Devils in what should be a cagey match up. The match will be played in Cologne on neutral turf and unlike in previous seasons, will be a one-off fixture.
Two-legged ties tend to favour the better team allowing them to overcome any mistakes from the first leg. Not so in a one-off playoff in which the teams must play well from kick off to progress.
Bring on our #UEL quarter-final 💪#MUFC @ScienceinSport pic.twitter.com/w5bYsDQpvU— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 6, 2020
Bring on our #UEL quarter-final 💪#MUFC @ScienceinSport pic.twitter.com/w5bYsDQpvU
While Manchester United thrashed LASK Linz 7-1 on aggregate, FC Copenhagen had to overturn a one-goal deficit in their second leg against Istanbul Basaksehir. The Danish team were dynamite on the night scoring three times thanks to two goals from Jonas Wind and one from Rasmus Falk.
FC Copenhagen could surprise the Red Devils in the quarterfinal, but there is a massive gulf in class between these teams. Manager Stale Solbakken will hope that Wind can once again take a knockout game by the scruff of the neck and power the Lions through.
Solbakken is likely to deploy 19-year-old Mikkel Kaufmann in attack. The teenager led the line versus Istanbul Basaksehir playing the opening 53 minutes. The youngster’s inclusion has much to do with FC Copenhagen being down to bare bones in the striker position.
The team’s lack of strikers should ultimately be their demise against a Manchester United team that plays strong defence. The Red Devils’ defence has kept 26 clean sheets this season and should throw another shutout against FC Copenhagen.
Injuries are not an issue for Solskjaer. His only absentees are long-term omissions Luke Shaw, Axel Tuanzebe and Phil Jones. Otherwise, he has a full squad to select from for Monday night’s fixture.
The quarterfinal should be a close affair with both teams focused on keeping goals out. Both teams will be determined to prevent the other from scoring. That will lead to a low-scoring game with Manchester United edging their Danish opponents.
Expect under 2.5 goals with the Red Devils marching onto the semifinals.