Big Match Breakdown: Man United v Sevilla
Published:
Red Devils hoping to bag quarter-final spot
Manchester United will be hoping to become the third English side in the Champions League quarter-finals tonight.
Jose Mourinho’s men host Sevilla, with the tie delicately poised following a 0-0 draw in Spain three weeks ago.
The Old Trafford outfit will be on a high following their excellent 2-1 win over Liverpool on Saturday, but an away goal for the Spaniards could turn the tie on its head.
Here’s all the key info for tonight’s game…
Head to Head
That 0-0 was the first ever meeting between the two sides.
Since then Sevilla have won two and lost one of their three league games. Their away record is so-so, but crucially, they’ve scored in each of their last four Champions League away matches.
As for United, they’ve unbeaten in five now, but have conceded in each of their last two home games. They’re rarely beaten though. The Red Devils have lost just two of their last 63 games at Old Trafford – both to Manchester City.
Likely XIs
Mourinho is likely to stick with Scott McTominay over Paul Pogba. The Frenchman still isn’t fully fit and McTominay has continued to impress.
The Portuguese boss must choose however, between Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard. Rashford was at his clinical best in Saturday’s win over Liverpool, although Lingard offers arguably a better all-round game.
Eric Bailly played the 90 minutes on Saturday, but the centre-half did take a knock. If he doesn’t start then Victor Lindelof could come in.
Sevilla have few injury concerns. Joaquin Correa was benched for Nolito at the weekend, so the Argentine could be in line for a return.
Key Battles
Sevilla have a knack of getting an away goal in Europe and they’re as experienced as anybody in continental competition. So Eric Bailly must remain focused at the back.
Mourinho’s men will need to maintain their clinical edge up front. A 1-0 lead would be highly risky, so the hosts should go out and seek two goals.
Both Valencia and Atletico Madrid cruised past Sevilla recently, so they may struggle to contain Romelu Lukaku if the Belgian keeps up his excellent performance from the weekend.
Match Odds
Coral make the hosts 8/13 for victory tonight, which would see United join Liverpool and their Blue neighbours across town in Friday’s quarter-final draw.
Sevilla are 9/2 to knock out the three-time European champions with a win this evening. A draw is 11/4.
There’s 2/5 available on United to qualify by any means, while it’s 7/4 to the Spanish visitors to prevail.
10/11 says both teams score, while Lukaku is 10/3 favourite score first. Rashford is 9/2 to keep up his hot streak and bag the opener.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
