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21:56 - Thank you for joining me for Manchester United's win over Zorya Luhansk, and until next time enjoy your evening !

21:55 - United have got off the mark in the Europa League. Marcus Rashford had the best chance of the first period, and the second half looked to be heading a similar way, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic secured the three points

FT - Manchester United 1-0 Zoyra

90' - Three minutes added time at Old Trafford.

80' - Final change for the away side with Chaykovsky coming off for Gordienko

73' - Changes for United with Mata and Fosu-Mensah coming off in place of Young and Martial

69' - UNITED MAKE THE BREAKTHROUGH It comes from Rooney as he scuffs his effort which proves perfect for Ibrahimovic as he heads home at the post 1-0 UNITED

69' - GOAL Manchester United 1-0 Zoyra.

63' - Bailly has been booked while Rooney is preparing to come on

59' - Zorya make their first change with Kulach coming off for Paulinho

50' - Rojo cant stop Karavayev and Ljubenovic comes within inches of turning it home

50' - Sloppy start to proceedings in the second period for United, as Rooney warms up on the sideline

45' - Back underway at Old Trafford

20:52 - Coverage of the second half will follow on VAVEL UK very shortly

20:51 - Been a poor 45 minutes of football, United have certainly dominated the chances but Rashford's crossbar effort proved to be the only shot of recognition

HT - Manchester United 0-0 Zorya Luhansk

41' - CHANCE good defending denies Ibrahimovic, subsequent corner falls to Fellaini but his header into the ground is on the top of the net

38' - Ball in finds Mata but his header is well wide.

35' - Little under ten minutes until the break, and the Rashford is the only one of recognition so far

19' - CHANCE corner comes to Rashford who smashes it towards goal, but it clattered the underside of the bar

18' - Ibrahimovic tries one from distance, but it goes just past the post

16' - Been quite a tame start to the proceedings, with neither side really creating an opportunity, still 0-0 at Old Trafford

8' - Fellaini gets his head to the corner but it is well wide of the mark

3' - Zorya had a good opportunity with the ball played into area but shot is well over the crossbar

1' - The game is underway !

20:02 - Little under two minutes until kick-off at Old Trafford

19:16 - Jose Mourinho has gone with astrong side to take on the Ukranian's, with four changes from the 4-1 win over Leicester City, with Romero, Fosu-Mensah, Rojo and Fellaini all coming into the side

19:15 - Zorya starting XI: Shevchenko, Sivakov, Chaykovskiy, Kamenyuka, Petriak, Kulach, Forster, Karavaev, Ljubenovic, Grechyshkin, Sobol.

19:13 - Manchester United starting XI: Romero, Fosu-Mensah, Bailly, Smalling,Rojo, Fellaini, Pogba, Lingard, Mata, Rashford, Ibrahimovic.

19:12 - The return of European football to Old Trafford is under a hour away, so keep up to date with pre-match build-up and team news right here on VAVEL

19:11 - Hi everyone and welcome to VAVEL's coverage of Manchester United - Zorya Luhansk

You would have to go back to 2013 for United's last game against Ukrainian opposition, and it ended in a victory, with Jones' single goal giving them the 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League group stages. 

United have never played Zoyra in any sort of capacity, but currently have an excellent record against Ukrainian sides, with the previous six matches against Ukrainian opposition ending in four victories and two draws. 

Above: Phil Jones celebrating his goal in Manchester United's 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk back in 2013 | Photo: Getty Images
Above: Phil Jones celebrating his goal in Manchester United's 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk back in 2013 | Photo: Getty Images

However Zorya manager Yuriy Vernydub, is expected to make no changes to his starting XI from the side that almost beat Fenerbahce . 

The coach confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Luke Shaw, didn't train on Wednesday and will not play due to ill health, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan will also be absent despite training with the side. He also confirmed that Anthony Martial will be fit to play, and that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will start. 

Mourinho is once again expected to make a number of changes to his squad, like he has in the previous two midweek fixtures. One certain absentee will be defender Phil Jones, who is still full recover from a knee injury.

Above: Anthony Martial been taken off during Manchester United's 3-1 defeat to Watford | Photo: Getty Images
Above: Anthony Martial been taken off during Manchester United's 3-1 defeat to Watford | Photo: Getty Images

They seemed to have carried that form over into Europe, providing a shock for Turkish outfit FenerbahceDmytro Grechyshkin gave the home side the lead in the Slavutych Arena, but were denied the win in the dying seconds with Simon Kjaer's equaliser, six minutes into stoppage time. The Ukrainians head to Manchester also off the back of a league victory, with the narrow 2-1 win over Vorskla, and are certain to be heading to Old Trafford to cause an upset. 

However it could prove to be quite a difficult task to come away with the points, as Luhansk have proved far from a pushover in the new campaign. They currently sit five points Ukrainian Premier League leaders Shakhtar Donetsk, having only lost one of their first nine league matches. 

Above: Zoyra Luhansk in action during their 1-1 draw with Fenerbahce | Photo: Getty Images
Above: Zoyra Luhansk in action during their 1-1 draw with Fenerbahce | Photo: Getty Images

There was quite some pressure going into Saturday's match with current Premier League champions Leicester City, but it proved to be a stellar performance, with first-half goals from Chris Smalling, Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba  giving them the 4-1 win, and a huge confidence boost ahead of Thursday's contest. 

It had been quite a good start to Mourinho's era at the Theatre of Dreams, until recently when they lost three matches on the spin. That included the 1-0 defeat to Feyenoord in their opening Europa League game, thanks to a single goal from Tonny Vilhena. 

Old Trafford welcomes back European football for the first time in the Jose Mourinho era, and the coach will be hoping to kick-start the Red Devil's European campaign with three points against the Ukrainian side. 

Above: Paul Pogba celebrating his goal in Manchester United's 4-1 win over Leicester City | Photo: Getty Images
Above: Paul Pogba celebrating his goal in Manchester United's 4-1 win over Leicester City | Photo: Getty Images

Good evening everyone, I am Danial Kennedy and welcome to VAVEL's live text commentary of Manchester United - Zorya Luhansk. Kick-off is set for 8:05pm BST at Old Trafford so stick around for build-up and team news until then. 

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.