Manchester United can take a step closer to their first ever Europa League crown as they meet Celta Vigo once again at Old Trafford on Thursday.

The Red Devils have never won European football’s secondary continental competition but will reach the final by avoiding defeat in this semi-final second leg tie after last week's 1-0 triumph at Balaídos.

Romero resumes European role in strong backline

With so much at stake, Jose Mourinho is undoubtedly set to deploy his strongest side for this match – as was evident judging by the team deployed against Arsenal in Sunday's 2-0 defeat, with the Red Devils now seemingly prioritising this competition over the Premier League in order to qualify for next season's Champions League.

That isn’t completely true, however. It won’t quite be Mourinho’s strongest side, as he’ll likely opt for Sergio Romero in goal, who has generally been preferred for this season’s Europa League matches over the much superior David de Gea.

In the defence in front of the Argentine stopper, however, United will surely go all out to limit Celta’s attack as much as possible with their strongest back four. That will see Antonio Valencia return at right-back, while Eric Bailly and Daley Blind – certainly the strongest centre-back pairing at the club in recent weeks – will resume their roles in the middle of defence.

Matteo Darmian will be one of few players to keep his place from facing Arsenal on Saturday, completing the defence at left-back.

Pogba and Fellaini to return

This fixture has been so heavily prioritised that even Paul Pogba sat out the last game in preparation for this one – if ever that further confirmation was needed that the star Frenchman is certain to start, barring any last minute injuries.

He will be partnered by the tireless Ander Herrera as well as Marouane Fellaini, who also sat out the weekend’s game – albeit through suspension – and will also be fresh to face Celta.

Similarly, the attack looks set to be rotated heavily from the last outing. Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard weren't involved against the Gunners either, meaning they will both likely return for this one.

The only selection issue Mourinho might have is deciding whether Juan Mata or Henrikh Mkhitaryan should occupy the right wing spot. The latter will probably take the starting berth given his fine form in this competition this term, but the United boss may well ponder the abilities of the club’s number eight, who has just returned from an injury which underlined just how important his creative talents have been for the team this season.

Predicted XI: Romero; Valencia, Bailly, Blind, Darmian; Fellaini, Herrera, Pogba; Mkhitaryan, Rashford, Lingard.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Matthew Brown
Third year Sports Journalism student at UCLan, Preston.