Roma vs Man Utd: Preview | Confirmed Team News | Expected Line-ups | Prediction

Man United take a trip to the Stadio Olimpico in Rome this evening as they face Roma in the second-leg of the Europa League semi-final.

In the first-leg, United looked to be struggling in the first half, giving away a penalty and conceding another giving Roma two away goals. However, Manchester United were able to pull it back in the second half, with both Bruno Fernandes and Edinson Cavani registering two goals and two assists each, alongside goals from Paul Pogba and Mason Greenwood, accumulating to a final score of 6-2.

That result therefore means United go into the second-leg with a comfortable four goal cushion, leaving Roma with all the work to do. Even so, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the players won’t be likely to take any chances, putting out a strong team and fighting to secure their place in the final.

Team News

Phil Jones, Anthony Martial and Dan James will all be unavailable for the second-leg.

In more positive news, Anthony Martial has returned to training this week, though he is working on individual rehabilitation and has not yet joined the rest of the group. Speaking to club media about his return Solskjaer confirmed “he’s supporting the team, he wants to be a part of the final and he’s working hard to be available before that”.

In reference to Dan James, Solskjaer said that “[he] is still not available. He’s still out for a little while”.

Other than that, everyone else should be fit and available for the game. Particularly considering United did not have a game at the weekend, preventing any potential injuries or fitness issues.

For Roma, keeper Pau Lopez and midfielders Leonardo Spinazzola and Jordan Veretout will be out due to injury. Amadou Diawara is another doubt for the game.

However, former Chelsea winger Pedro returned to training and could therefore be involved in the second-leg. Gianluca Mancini is also back from a ban so should be available. Adding to this, former Reds Chris Smalling and Henrikh Mkhitaryan will both be pushing for starts.

Expected Line-ups

Roma (3-4-2-1): Mirante; Mancini, Smalling, Ibanez; Karsdorp, Cristante, Villar, Peres; Pellegrini, Mkhitaryan; Dzeko

Man Utd (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Bailly, Maguire, Telles; Fred, Matic; Pogba, Fernandes, Rashford; Greenwood

As United now have a fixture build-up of four games in eight days, Solskjaer is going to have to think about rotating his squad to keep his everyone fit and energised.

At the back, Eric Bailly and Alex Telles should come in for Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw who both need to be rested for the weekend and mid-week games.

In the middle, Nemanja Matic may come in to partner Fred. With his experience and defensive attributes, Solskjaer may opt with Matic over McTominay who also needs to be rested in preparation for the upcoming fixtures.

Up front, Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes are all likely to keep their places in the starting line-up. However, Mason Greenwood may come in to replace Edinson Cavani.

This leaves Solskjaer with the likes of Donny van de Beek, Cavani, Scott McTominay and Amad Diallo all on the bench to provide United with creativity in attack if Roma are somehow able to make a come back.

Score Prediction

Roma cannot afford to sit back in this game, meaning the Italian side are very likely to play an offensive style of football. This will suit Manchester United, allowing them to sit back and use their counter-attacking threat to hit Roma on the break when the opportunity presents itself. Therefore, the score prediction is:

Roma 1 – 3 Man United