Manchester United vs. Athletic Bilbao: UEL Match Preview, Odds & Predictions

In Thursday night's second leg of their Europa League semi-final match, Manchester United will host Athletic Bilbao at Old Trafford. United will be looking to seal the deal and earn a spot in the final.

The Red Devils won the opening leg 3-0 in the Basque Country, putting themselves in a good position to return to San Mames Stadium for this season's championship match.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

Manchester United shocked Athletic Bilbao with a 3-0 first-half lead at San Mames, despite playing with 10 men, thanks to a Bruno Fernandes brace and a Casemiro goal. Bilbao, unbeaten at home for over eight months and on a six-game Europa League winning run, were left reeling.

United remain unbeaten in this season's Europa League (W8 D5), though head coach Ruben Amorim insists "anything can happen in one game." If they reach the final, they'd be the first English side since Chelsea in 2018–19 to do so without defeat.

However, United's momentum was halted by a chaotic 4-3 Premier League defeat at Brentford last weekend, fielding their youngest-ever starting XI under Amorim. Set for their lowest PL points tally (currently 39) and no higher than 12th, United's only route to next season's Champions League is via Europa League glory.

History is on their side — 133 teams have advanced after winning a European away leg by 3+ goals. United are unbeaten in their last 11 Europa League games at Old Trafford since a 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad in September 2022.

Bilbao hasn't reached a European final since 2011–12 and now faces a considerable challenge. Their La Liga form is shaky, too, with just five wins in 14 games, and Villarreal is closing in on their top-four spot. Last weekend's 0-0 draw with Real Sociedad means they've failed to score in two of their last three Europa League ties and six of their past nine matches.

To overturn a three-goal deficit away, Bilbao must rediscover their scoring touch — a feat achieved just once before in a UEFA club competition by Olympiakos in 2023–24. Bilbao have lost both legs of a significant European knockout tie only twice in their history and hope to avoid a third. Encouragingly, their last visit to Old Trafford ended in a famous 3-2 win in March 2012 under Marcelo Bielsa.

Manchester United vs. Athletic Bilbao Team News

Manchester United is sweating over Matthijs de Ligt, who limped off against Brentford with a muscle issue. Ayden Heaven, Lisandro Martinez, Joshua Zirkzee, Diogo Dalot, and Toby Collyer will also face fitness tests.

Chido Obi-Martin, who became United's youngest-ever Premier League debutant last weekend at 17 years and 156 days, is ineligible for the Europa League. Rasmus Hojlund should lead the line again, supported by Fernandes and Garnacho.

Victor Lindelof could start in central defence, while Amorim may deploy Amad Diallo at right wing-back, with Noussair Mazraoui an alternative.

Dani Vivian is suspended for Athletic Bilbao, so Yeray Alvarez and Aitor Paredes will likely partner at centre-back. Oihan Sancet, Oscar De Marcos, and Nico Williams will be assessed pre-match, though the latter missed the first leg with an injury.

Our Predictions

Manchester United to win @ 2.05 on Sky247.ng

With 12 goals scored and 10 goals conceded, Athletic Bilbao has scored 22 goals in their last five matches against Manchester United, for an average of 4.4 goals per game. At least three goals have been scored in each of those five meetings, so Thursday may be the day for another scoring extravaganza.

Athletic have to improve in the final third and must hurl all they can at a Man United backline that has maintained just two clean sheets in their previous nine games in all competitions.  However, a three-goal deficit is likely to be too much for the Spanish outfit to overturn, and we believe that the Red Devils will ultimately find a way to outscore their opponents in front of a fired-up Old Trafford crowd to seal their spot in the Europa League final.

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