Celta de Vigo vs Manchester United - Europa League Final preview and odds

Published on: 04/05/2017

Celta de Vigo vs Manchester United - Europa League Final preview and odds

May 04, 2017 20:05pm - Estadio de Balaídos

Europa League - Semi-Final, First leg

Manchester United will attempt to end Spain`s recent stronghold on the Europa League trophy by overcoming the challenge of Celta de Vigo at the semi-final stage. The first encounter of this two-legged affair kicks off at the Estadio de Balaídos on Thursday night.

Reds Devils doing it the hard way

Manchester United edged past Rostov and required extra-time to see off Anderlecht in the last two knockout rounds of Europe`s second-tier competition. What`s more, they failed to score more than once in any of those four legs and may need to up their game against the tricky Spanish side.

The Red Devils are favourites to win the competition thanks to their elite European record but they have never looked like the dominating team of old during this campaign.

Jose Mourinho`s men come into this game on the back of yet another Premier League draw and may have to win this competition to stand any chance of qualifying for next season`s Champions League.

Meanwhile, with a top six finish in La Liga out of the question, the Spaniards have thrown all their eggs into the Europa League basket and are determined to go all the way. The Galicians have lost just one of their six legs during the knockout phase but recovered from a first leg home defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk to win in Ukraine and progress to the next round.

Team news

Planas, Giuseppe Rossi and Rubén Blanco are all out of action for the home side.

Meanwhile, the visitors will have to make do without Luke Shaw, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Marcos Rojo, Eric Baill and Zlatan Ibrahimović.

Recent form (All competitions)

Celta de Vigo: LLLDW

Manchester United: DDWWW

Betting odds and tips

English sides have lost seven of their last eight matches in Spain in the competition, stretching back to 2004. As a result, even a draw would be a good result for the Manchester side this week. And judging by their recent record, a stalemate is highly probable

You can back the Draw at 11/5 with Bet365.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 04/05/2017

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (04/05/2017 09:17:07) but are subject to change.