Manchester United welcome Real Betis to Old Trafford in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie in 2022-23 UEFA Europa League.
Utd overcame Barcelona in their Knockout Play-Off to qualify for this stage, whilst Real Betis had received a bye to this stage after they topped Group C in the Group Stage.
Team News
Marcel Sabitzer is a major doubt for Man Utd after he suffered a knock during their 7-0 league defeat at Liverpool last weekend.
Casemiro and Victor Lindelof though are expected to be in contention after recovering from respective knocks.
Christian Eriksen (ankle), Donny van de Beek (knee), Anthony Martial (leg) and Mason Greenwood (personal) remain absent.
Real Betis could welcome Sergio Canales back into contention after he missed their goalless draw against Real Madrid in La Liga, due to a hamstring injury.
Nabil Fekir remains absent with a knee injury.
When is Kick-Off?
Man Utd host Real Betis at Old Trafford in a 8pm GMT kick-off on Thursday 9 March, live on BT Sport in UK.
Stat Attack
- This is Man Utd’s first-ever meeting against Real Betis.
- Real Betis are visiting Man Utd for the first time in all UEFA competitions.
- Betis are winless in three previous away matches against English opposition in all UEFA competitions (D1, L2).
- Both of Utd’s two conceded home goals in this season’s Europa League came against Spanish opposition (W1, L1) as they lost 1-0 to Real Sociedad in September then beat Barcelona 2-1 in February.
- Real Betis conceded just one goal in their three away matches during the Group Stage this season, which came in a 2-1 win at AS Roma in October.
Prediction
Following their hectic start to 2023 with barely much gap time between fixtures, Utd were always bound to hit burnout at some stage and Sunday’s horrific defensive collapse felt like that moment, with sloppy flat marking and far too many basic errors especially in attitude.
Their attack though was the only bright spark because they did look decent going forward, minus their usual clinical end product but this game is simply the reset button that Erik Ten Hag’s Red Devils need to quickly reboot their season.
Real Betis however are unbeaten in their last four matches but have kept just two clean sheets, of which their latest came against Real Madrid on Sunday, which will provide them a confidence boost coming into a game where they should look to attack early to try and capitalise on Utd’s low mood.
Utd though should hopefully be back on form because to come into this home game off the back of a shambolic away performance will only motivate them, which means that Betis’ defence will have to be firm if want to keep this tie alive into their home leg.
Prediction: Manchester United 2-0 Real Betis
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