José Mourinho is yet to put all of his Easter eggs into the Europa League basket, but Manchester United will look for a positive result in Belgium as they go in search of Champions League qualification via means other than the Premier League's top four.
Anderlecht, Thursday night’s opponents, are also considering their options for the back end of the season. With a tight title race ongoing, though Anderlecht leads it, they could well prioritise the Belgian league over this Europa League quarter-final with Man United.
Mourinho’s men will face a tough challenge on Thursday. United’s greatest ever victory came against Anderlecht in 1956, a remarkable 10-0 win in the European Cup which Sir Matt Busby described as "the finest exhibition of teamwork I had ever seen from any side either at club or international level".
Incredibly, there are some Man United fans who were at that game, hosted at Maine Road, who are travelling to Brussels in 2017.
The Reds travelled to Belgium on Wednesday afternoon, three days after a comfortable and professional 3-0 victory against favourites-for-relegation Sunderland. Three excellent goals, in both build-up and finish, that provides a much-needed confidence booster after a number of league draws.
In the Europa League, though, United have been consistently dominant since a 2-1 defeat to Fenerbahce in November, during a tumultuous period for Mourinho and the Reds.
While some would argue that their European frailties showed in a 1-1 draw with FC Rostov, English teams traditionally fare poorly in Russia and the pitch was a disgrace to the competition.
Anderlecht, in fact, were forced into the Europa League by Rostov during UEFA Champions League qualification, going onto finish second in their group. AS Saint-Etienne were brushed aside by United, the team whom Anderlecht finished behind Group C, and while Mourinho will hope to do the same against Anderlecht, the Belgian side are by no means pushovers, of course. Set for a first league title since 2014, they sit four points clear in the Belgian League group stage.
Rene Weiler’s side were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Gent in the third game of the Group Stage of the Belgian League, their most recent game. With a vital period for the club coming up in the league, their focus is not solely on Europa League success, despite being just four games from the final in Stockholm.
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Anderlecht
Unfortunately for supporters of the Belgian side, tall Polish striker Lukasz Teodorczyk will “probably not” be available for Thursday evening’s game according to manager Rene Weiler. Teodorczyk has scored 28 goals in all competitions this season, a rate of a goal every 115 minutes, better than any other player in either squad. He’s drawn interest from Liverpool, West Ham, West Brom, Sunderland and Everton recently and has stated his desire to leave the club after less than a season in Brussels. United can be thankful Teordorcyzk is unlikely to start, his ability to hold the ball up and aerial prowess, as well of course his goalscoring abilities, would have tested the Reds. Isaac Kiese Thelin is set to replace him in the side.
Meanwhile, right-back Andy Nájar has returned to full training after a hamstring injury but won’t be risked on Thursday, like Teodorczyk.
There will be great attention on the young Youri Tielemans. The 19-year-old has been followed by many for the last three years since he broke into the Anderlecht side, aged 16. While he may have been overhyped for his first couple of seasons in senior football, he has shown his true ability this season, captaining the side in their Europa League knockout game against Zenit St. Petersburg.
Walter Baseggio, who was part of the Anderlecht side that beat United 16 years ago, said that “the most important thing is not to be too impressed. And Tielemans should try to stay away from the pressure developed by Manchester [United] so he can use his talent to the most.”
Manchester United
David de Gea had a slight hip problem that ruled him out of United’s 3-0 win against Sunderland on Sunday and Sergio Romero will almost undoubtedly start having been Mourinho’s Europa League goalkeeper all season.
Eric Bailly and Marcos Rojo will continue as the centre-back pairing with very other options available, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are both injured. Antonio Valencia will be welcomed back at right-back after a few days out while Juan Mata remains on the sidelines until the end of April.
Wayne Rooney could return to the United squad after some weeks out with an injury, with his United future up for debate. Some reports suggested he was desperate to be in the squad for Anderlecht after fearing his days at Old Trafford were numbered.