Fernabahce Vs Man Utd preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

Manchester United will travel to Turkey to face Jose Mourinho’s Fernabahce in what promises to be a thrilling encounter in the UEFA Europa League matchday three. 

The Red Devils will hope to forget an eventful outing on their last visit to Turkey, where they allowed a two-goal lead slip as Galatasaray rallied back to secure a 3-3 draw. The result saw the Red Devils crash out of the UEFA Champions League group stage last season after a poor run of one win in six matches.

This season, they return to Turkey, but this time in the Europa League and will hope for a better result and a much better performance.

It’ll be a clash of old faces as former United manager Jose Mourinho will be at the opposite dugout to face the club he won the UEFA Europa League with, in 2017.

More interesting about this clash is the reunion of former United players including, Sofyan Amrabat and Fred, who had stints at Old Trafford before departing last summer.

Fred made 213 appearances for the Red Devils, while Amrabat only joined on a season-long loan move from Italian side, Fiorentina.

United’s European campaign this season hasn’t particularly started well, with two underwhelming draws so far.

With just two points from their opening two matches in the Europa League, Erik ten Hag’s side currently sits in 21st position in the new League format, with equal points with Viktoria Plzen and FC Twente — who they played out a 1-1 draw with at Old Trafford.

In their recent Europa League encounter, Harry Maguire’s last-gasp header salvaged a 3-3 draw for United against Porto in a thrilling group-stage match.

Early goals from Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Højlund appeared to have United cruising to victory, but Porto responded swiftly. Pepe cut the deficit, and Samu Omorodion equalised before the break, then added another shortly after halftime.

United captain Bruno Fernandes received his second red card in as many games after a second yellow, leaving his team with ten men.

However, Harry Maguire’s header in from a corner secured a draw and relieved some pressure on under-fire manager Erik ten Hag.

They’ll be heading into the game at the back of a weekend win over Brentford, where they rallied from a goal down in the first half to secure a 2-1 victory.

With United down to 10 players due to Matthijs de Ligt being treated for a head injury, Brentford capitalized as Ethan Pinnock headed in their goal from a corner during first-half stoppage time. Referee Sam Barrott had directed de Ligt to the touchline to manage the bleeding.

The incident appeared to ignite United, as they took control of Brentford in a dominant second half.

Alejandro Garnacho latched onto a Marcus Rashford cross and fired a shot into the far corner from the left side of the six-yard box in the 47th minute. Rasmus Højlund then put United ahead in stunning style in the 62nd minute, receiving a back-heel pass from Bruno Fernandes and chipping the ball over goalkeeper Mark Flekken for his first league goal of the season.

Their attention now turns to Turkey, where they’ll face their former manager, Jose Mourinho — who will look to make a statement against his former club.

After enduring a dramatic last-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw against Samsunspor upon returning from October’s international break, Fenerbahce will be eager to get back to Istanbul for Thursday night’s game at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.

Now led by former United manager José Mourinho, Fenerbahce will be sensing the opportunity to secure a big win. They began their Europa League campaign on September 26th with a 2-1 triumph over Royale Union and have only lost one of their last 11 matches across all competitions within regular time. Notably, apart from a 3-1 loss to fierce rivals Galatasaray last month, that remains the only home defeat Mourinho’s side has endured since mid-March.

Mourinho was at the helm when these two sides last faced off in November 2016 in the same competition, with his current team emerging victorious. A similar outcome this time around would heap additional pressure on Ten Hag, who is in dire need of both a solid performance and a win in Turkey.

Fernabahce Vs Man Utd match details 

• Date: Thursday, October 24, 2024
• Location: Istanbul, Türkiye
• Venue: Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium
• Kick-off time: 08:00 PM BST, 07:00 PM UTC
• Referee: Clement Turpin
• Tickets: Official tickets are sold out by fans can still buy tickets for the game on a secondary marketplace such as Seatsnet.com.

Match stats and head-to-head 

• Man United have won just one of their last 10 matches in European competition, drawing four and losing five.

• The Red Devils are currently on a five-match winless run in European competitions, winning three and losing two — their longest winless run in the competition since 1980 and 1983 when they were winless in six games.

• Fernabahce are unbeaten in their last seven matches at the Saracoğlu Stadium

• The Yellow Canaries have won four of their last five matches at the Saracoğlu Stadium

• United have lost their last two away matches to Fernabahce. A 0-3 loss in 2004 was followed by a 1-2 loss in 2016.

• This will be the seventh meeting between these two sides, with each recording three wins apiece, while one fixture has ended in a draw.

• Fernabahce’s 1996 victory over the Red Devils was United’s first-ever defeat at home in a European competition.

Team news 

United could be without Casemiro for the trip to Istanbul, as the Brazilian midfielder left the pitch late against Brentford due to a muscle injury.

Mason Mount is also facing a late fitness test, with the Englishman continuing his recovery from a head injury sustained during the loss to Spurs in late September.

Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire are still unavailable, along with long-term absentees Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia.

Summer signing, Leny Yoro, has returned to individual training in a boost to Erik ten Hag’s side but the Frenchman is not expected to feature in this match as he’s still a long way off from full fitness.

Tyrell Malacia remains United’s longest absentee, while Noussair Mazraoui will hope to feature in the clash against the Turkish giants after coming off the bench in the weekend’s win over Brentford.

Jose Mourinho will be without left-back, Jayden Oosterwolde, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the dramatic 2-2 draw against Samsunspor.

Right-back, Bright Osayi-Samuel and former Leicester City centre-back, Caglar Soyuncu could potentially be out of the clash pending a late fitness test.

Former United stars, Sofyan Amrabat and Fred are likely to feature against their former club and will be looking to make a mark when they meet on Thursday.

Notable absentees for the clash against United include: Cengiz Under (groin) Ismail Yuksek (shoulder), and Irfan Can Egribayat (muscle).

The likes of Filip Kostic, Oguz Aydin, Bartug Elmaz and Levent Mercan will not be part of the squad after the quartet were left out of the club’s Europa League team.

Predicted starting lineup 

Fenerbahce predicted starting lineup:

Livakovic; Djiku, Soyuncu, Becao, Muldur; Amrabat, Fred; Tadic, Szymanski, Saint-Maximin; En-Nesyri.

Man Utd predicted starting lineup:

Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Dalot; Ugarte, Casemiro; Garnacho, Eriksen, Rashford; Hojlund.

Prediction

United cannot afford to extend their winless European run to six matches. A fight for their European pedigree and Erik ten Hag’s future is very much on the line in this fixture, and United will be all out to secure a win.

However, Mourinho does not look to have ended his antics and is fully aware of United’s desperate need for a win. He’ll also be keen on making a bold statement against his former club, and playing at home gives him an additional advantage.

This clash promises to be a thrilling encounter but a win could be decided by small margins.

We’re predicting a 2-1 win for Fernabahce.