Manchester United return to the Europa League against Feyenoord in a must-win game at Old Trafford. The Red Devils sit 3rd in Group A on six points, one behind Feyenoord and group leaders Fenerbahce.

A win would see United leapfrog the Dutch side and move two points clear of them and, depending on the result of the Fenerbahce vs Zorya Luhansk game, could go top of the group.

Home form crucial

Jose Mourinho's side is highly dependent on their home form in Europe, as they have lost their last five away games in Europe, and haven't won on the road in UEFA competition since the dismantling of Club Brugge in the Champions League qualifier last year.

This season, United have won both of their home games in the Europa League, but have faltered at the Theatre of Dreams in the league with three consecutive draws against Stoke City, Burnley and Arsenal, all games they should have won convincingly.

Tough opposition

Feyenoord sit two points clear of Ajax at the top of the Eredivisie and ended a three-game winless run with a convincing 3-0 victory over Zwolle last time out.

United should be very aware of the threat of Feyenoord after the Dutch side beat United in Rotterdam with a late goal from Tony Vilhena to steal the spoils from a very lacklustre encounter.

Team News

Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return to the squad after missing the visit of the Gunners through suspension.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan will make a rare first-team appearance as Mourinho confirmed he will be involved; the Armenian has struggled for game time since his move from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Mourinho explain, in part, why recently, suggesting that Mkhitaryan cannot feature in high-pressure games such as Sunday's home game against Arsenal, and instead needs to flourish in lesser fixtures.

Centre-backs Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly will be missing but Phil Jones remains fit after a long injury lay-off. The English centre-back revealed he has been fit for a number of weeks now but waited to be 100% fit before starting his first game for 10 months for club or country.

Luke Shaw didn't feature against Arsenal after Mourinho questioned his attitude, and it's unknown whether he'll feature against the Eredivisie leaders.

Whether Michael Carrick plays is somewhat of a mystery as he hasn't featured in back-to-back games very often under Mourinho, with the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin ready to step into his place.

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About the author
Ryan Fisher
Sports Journalism at University of Central Lancashire. Manchester United fan. General sports enthusiast, football, cricket, tennis and formula 1 mostly though