Manchester United will be looking to book a place in the Europa League knockout stages when they take on FC Sheriff at Old Trafford on Thursday night.
The Reds go into the game on the back of a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night whilst the visitors were defeated 1-0 by Petrocub in the Moldovan national division.
Cristiano Ronaldo could be recalled to the starting eleven after returning to first team training this week whilst Anthony Elanga could also be handed a start.
Sitting just outside the top four and within touching distance of qualifying to the next round of the Europa League, it’s fair to say it has been a positive start to the season for Manchester United. After back-to-back defeats in the opening two games the Reds have responded well under Ten Hag and it’s clear that the club are heading in the right direction.
The Premier League will always be the bread and butter for United but the Europa League this season provides Ten Hag a fabulous opportunity to win some silverware something of which the club haven’t achieved for over five years now and in facing Sheriff on Thursday night it provides United a great chance to progress to the next round.
FC Sheriff made a real game of it last time round and in order for United to win its pivotal they don’t take their opponents lightly. The Reds need no reminder of just how tough a similar opponent Omonia were at Old Trafford not that long ago and for United to beat the Moldovan side we must take our chances.
An early goal from United in many respects could go a long way to deciding the outcome of this one. Had United scored early against Omonia we could easily have gone on and scored five or six and if United do manage to score early then you certainly wouldn’t bet against the Reds winning by that margin here
Prediction: Manchester United 4-0 FC Sheriff
