Celta Vigo vs. Manchester United | Europa League Preview

The Red Devils are to visit the Spanish side Celta Vigo in Europa League’s semi-finals’ first leg. The Jose Mourinho’s men have the chance to qualify for The Champions League through this tournament if they don’t find a place in The Top 4. So, they will give their best to reach the final game.

On the other hand, the Spaniards will be motivated a lot to find a place in the final – that’s their only chance to participate in The Champions League. The last time Celta Vigo took part in the Champions League was in season 2003/04. The team reached the Round of 16, but was eliminated from Arsenal.

These two teams haven’t met in an official game, so this will be the first ever game between Celta and Manchester United. However, The Red Devils struggle a lot when visiting Spanish teams. United have only won 2 games of 22 visits. We must also say that The Red Devils have recorded 25 consecutive Premier League matches without a defeat, so Celta will also have problems to record a victory against the Jose Mourinho’s players.

That’s the first time in Celta Vigo’s history, when the team finds a place in the semi-finals of a big European club tournament. The Spaniards have played against English clubs on 9 occasions (5 victories and 4 defeats). They met Newcastle in 2006 and lost the match 1-2. Moreover, Celta Vigo are in a bad form, as they have lost 3 consecutive league games.

The manager Berizzo can’t use Giuseppe Rossi. The 30-year-old forward is suffering from ACL knee ligament injury. The goalkeeper Ruben Blanco and the defender Carles Planas are doubtful. On the other hand, Mourinho has a lot more problems with injuries. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is long term injured. Phil Jones will also probably miss the game. Marcos Rojo is suffering from a knee injury, while Luke Shaw (foot injury) and Timothy Fosu-Mensah (shoulder injury) will also be sidelined. Juan Mata and Chris Smalling are already fit.

Possible Starting XIs:

Celta Vigo (4-2-3-1): Sergio Alvarez; Hugo Mallo, Gustavo Cabral, Andreu Fontas, Johny; Nemanja Radoja, Pablo Hernandez; Iago Aspas, Daniel Wass, Pione Sisto; John Guidetti.

Manchester United (4-3-3): Sergio Romero; Ashley Young, Eric Bailly, Matteo Darmian, Antonio Valencia; Ander Herrera, Michael Carrick, Paul Pogba; Anthony Martial, Henrik Mkhitaryan, Marcus Rashford.

In April, we played 9 games – 7 in the Premier League and we had too many problems. There were too many absent players and players who recorded 750 – 800 minutes of football. We paid the price for that. Jose Mourinho