Manchester United will attempt to complete the job against Athletic Club on Thursday and reach the final of the UEFA Europa League.
The Red Devils produced arguably their best performance of the season to win the first leg 3-0 and take control of the semifinal tie. Bruno Fernandes scored twice after Casemiro’s opening goal, with Athletic forced to play for nearly an hour with 10 men after Dani Vivian’s red card.
The Basque side have fond memories of Old Trafford, having claimed a memorable 3-2 win there in this competition back in 2012, but their task this week feels far more difficult. Ernesto Valverde’s squad is missing some key players, and United, for all their faults in a largely wretched season, remain the only unbeaten side across the Champions League and Europa League in 2024/25.
Ruben Amorim has also been able to welcome back a handful of senior players from injury over the past couple of weeks, and after rotating his side for the weekend loss at Brentford, the United boss should be able to field a strong-looking XI here.
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Man United vs. Athletic Club lineups, predicted starting 11, team news
Amorim made eight changes to the team that won in Bilbao for Sunday’s league loss at Brentford, and he will bring back several of his rested stars for this fixture.
The XI should look very similar to the one from the first leg, although Amad Diallo is in line to make his first start since February after coming off the bench to score at Brentford.
Matthijs de Ligt went off injured at the weekend and will likely be unavailable on Thursday. Amorim will have to pick two of Victor Lindelof, Leny Yoro and Luke Shaw to join Harry Maguire in the three-man defence.
Diogo Dalot is out with a calf problem, while Joshua Zirkzee and Lisandro Martinez will not play again this season.
Man United predicted lineup (3-4-2-1, right to left): Onana (GK) — Lindelof, Maguire, Yoro — Mazraoui, Ugarte, Casemiro, Dorgu — Fernandes, Amad — Hojlund
Injured: Martinez (knee), Zirkzee (hamstring), Dalot (calf), Heaven (leg), De Ligt (undisc.), Collyer (undisc., doubt)
Suspended: None
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Athletic’s already slim comeback hopes were dealt a further blow when they left for Manchester without their three most dangerous attacking players.
Brothers Nico Williams and Inaki Williams are out with muscle problems, while top-scorer Oihan Sancet has not recovered from the injury that kept him out of the first leg.
Dani Vivian is suspended after his red card last week, so Aitor Paredes is expected to come into defence.
Athletic Club predicted lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Agirrezabala (GK) — De Marcos, Paredes, Yeray Alvarez, Berchiche — Ruiz De Galarreta, Jaureguizar — Djalo, Berenguer, Gomez — Sannadi
Injured: Sancet (muscle), I. Williams (hamstring), N. Williams (groin)
Suspended: Vivian (red card)
Man United vs. Athletic Club live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch this Europa League semifinal second leg across selected areas of the world’s major regions:
