Ones to Watch: Manchester United vs Sevilla (Europa League)

Manchester United face off against Sevilla in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Europa League on Thursday night at Old Trafford.

In this year’s Europa League, Manchester United have already eliminated two La Liga teams; Barcelona and Real Betis, while Sevilla have moved past PSV Eindhoven and Fenerbahce.

While United aim for a one-up on their current European competition status by qualifying for next season’s Champions League, they do have a chance to add another piece of major silverware to their cabinet by winning the Europa League this year.

At the end of February, United ended their six-year trophy drought by winning the EFL Cup. They are presently participating in the FA Cup and preparing to play Brighton & Hove Albion on 23 April in the contest’s semi-finals.

With clean sheets in both games against Brentford and Everton, Erik ten Hag‘s group have won back-to-back home league games. They are now three points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in fifth position in the Premier League standings.

Before the end of the month, United, the 2017 Europa League champions, will play six more games, including both legs of their quarter-final match against Sevilla – the second leg will be played at Estadio Ramon next Thursday.

Manchester United: Anthony Martial

This game will be played without Marcus Rashford, who is responsible for 27 goals and 10 assists this season. Instead, it will be up to Anthony Martial, who has just returned from injury, to be effective in his place.

The lack of continuous minutes has definitely affected Martial, even though he has played pretty well in the games he has participated in—scoring four goals and providing two assists in 12 league outings.

The return of Anthony Martial to United’s starting lineup has been heavily anticipated by the United fans. He might make a significant difference in how United finishes the season if he stays healthy and motivated, giving Erik ten Hag much more alternatives when selecting his attacking line-up each week.

Since coming back, the French striker has made optimistic cameos, and he celebrated his third cameo against Everton with a clean finish. He must perform at his peak if Manchester United is to win the opening leg and end the tie at the Theatre of Dreams itself.

Sevilla: Youssef En-Nesyri

Erik ten Hag’s plan calls for United to press hard and swarm Sevilla inside their own half. In this situation, Sevilla’s striker must make the most of the limited assistance that he receives. Sevilla’s chances will seem much better if Nesyri causes trouble for United’s centre-backs and creates opportunities for his club.

The Moroccan has scored 7 goals in 24 games in La Liga and has scored once in his 4 games in the Europa League.

It would be safe to say that if United maintain their defensive line well and do not lose their shape very often, they can definitely neutralise the 25-year-old’s threat. He is a penalty box striker and all of his goals have come from inside the box this season.

His linkup play is not the best and in most games, when Sevilla are on the attack, he can be found hovering inside the opposition box waiting for chances to be created for him rather than creating a few himself.

However, his pressing is one of the best in Europe’s top five leagues with him ranking within the top 80 percentile among forwards when it comes to tackles won per 90 (0.67), interceptions per 90 (0.38) and tackles in the attacking third per 90 (0.33).

United’s defenders will have to be wary of En-Nesyri’s pressing and awareness while making passes in their own half to prevent him from fashioning out chances for himself or for his team.