Granada vs Man Utd: Europa League Preview | Confirmed Team News | Expected Line-ups

Man Utd take a trip to Spain this evening to face Granada at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes in the first leg of their tie in the quarter finals of the Europa League.

Man Utd managed to get into the semi-finals last year before being knocked out of the competition by Sevilla. Utd will therefore be looking to get a win over Granada so that they can compete for a place in the finals once again.

For Granada, this is the first time they have ever made it to this point in the competition, making history with their win over Molde. They currently sit in 9^th place in the La Liga and have lost their last two games against Villarreal (3-0) and Valencia (2-1).

The two teams have never met before in any competitions, therefore this game is likely to be a fascinating tie and an interesting watch.

Team News

Eric Bailly is still currently in the Ivory Coast after testing positive for Coronavirus. Anthony Martial also remains out with a knee injury which may not see him return for the rest of the season.

However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed in his pre-match press conference that no one was “lost” last weekend against Brighton, therefore the squad is looking strong.

Furthermore, Juan Mata has returned to training and has been included in the travelling squad, alongside Alex Telles who missed Sunday’s game through illness. Solskjaer said, “Juan is back training as is Alex, so we’re looking stronger definitely”.

Marcus Rashford had to be subbed off during Sunday’s game with an injury. Nevertheless, he has been included in the travelling squad with Solskjaer confirming, “Marcus is okay-ish. He’s trained this morning. He’s available to be selected, as I said, either as a sub or a starter”.

Anthony Elanga has also been added to the club’s B list for the competition. The 18-year-old has been playing in Utd’s Under-23s as a forward, therefore with Martial out, Elanga provides another option for Solskjaer in this area.

Granada will be missing Alberto Soro, Neyder Lozano and Luis Milla, as confirmed by Coach Diego Martinez.

Expected XIs

Man Utd (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Telles; McTominay, Pogba; James, Fernandes, Greenwood; Cavani.

With Dean Henderson having been chosen to play in Sunday’s game against Brighton, David De Gea may be selected as Utd’s Europa League goalie for the rest of the season.

At the back, it is unlikely there will be many changes from Sunday with Eric Bailly out. The only change which may be made is Alex Telles coming in for Luke Shaw. Utd will face Tottenham on Sunday, therefore it would make sense to play Telles in order to give Shaw a rest.

Fred may also be given a rest ahead of Sunday’s game, meaning Scott McTominay will come into the starting line-up having been used as a sub in their previous game. Other options in midfield include Donny van de Beek who will also be pushing for some game time.

With Marcus Rashford a potential doubt for the game, Dan James should come into the team to play on the left wing. With James in the team, it would make sense for Solskjaer to rotate Rashford, giving him time to rest for the weekend. Bruno Fernandes is likely to remain in the middle with Mason Greenwood on the right wing.

Edinson Cavani has only recently come back from injury, therefore he started Sunday’s game but was subbed off during the second half. This may have been done to try and preserve Cavani for this game, especially considering Utd are short on forwards at the moment with Anthony Martial out.

Youngsters, Amad Diallo, Shola Shoretire and Anthony Elanga will all be on the bench for Utd. The most likely used substitute would be Diallo, however this will be entirely dependent on the score line.

Granada (4-2-3-1): Silva; Vallejo, Sanchez, Duarte, Diaz; Gonalons, Herrera; Puertas, Molina, Kenedy; Soldado