Manchester United travel to Portugal on Thursday evening for the second match of our Europa League campaign, having drawn the first with Dutch outfit FC Twente.
The pressure on Erik Ten hag is higher than it’s ever been after the terrible Spurs performance at the weekend; some sections of the fanbase calling for him to go now, with others wanting him to have more time. Make no mistake, a poor performance and defeat tonight would probably turn a lot of people around to the former of those two opinions.
After a poor start to our Europa League campaign, United, and in particular Ten Hag, really needed to bounce back against Spurs in the league.
What happened was the opposite; trounced 3-0 at home by an average Spurs side that was missing its best player. Granted, a terrible red card decision against Bruno Fernandes didn’t help, but the writing was on the wall before that.
We were shockingly bad almost to a man, Onana the only player that really came away with any credit. Morale around the club and fanbase is at a real low – tonight’s game against Porto is one we desperately need to play well in, and win.
Manchester United Team News
United have received a boost with the news that Kobbie Mainoo has shook off an injury sustained at the weekend, and he travels with the squad. Whether he makes the starting 11 is another matter.
Mason Mount’s head injury sustained against Spurs will keep him out, and we are still missing Victor Lindelof, Leny Yoro, Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw. There is good news on the latter two, with both set to return after the upcoming international break, which will provide much more depth at full back and provide some respite for Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui.
There are more crucial selection decisions for Erik Ten Hag. The biggest one could be whether to abandon the high-pressing style that backfired so spectacularly against Tottenham, in favour of conceding more possession to Porto with a mid-block type of set-up.
Personally, I would favour this approach and would pick an 11 designed to carry out this gameplan.
Manchester United Possible Lineup
United’s pressing style has worked sporadically this season, but was brutally exposed by Spurs. Playing away in Europe against a decent team is hard, and you wouldn’t expect United to doiminate possession.
Ten Hag is without probably our most energetic presser, Mason Mount, and should pick a team that is better suited to a mid-block type system out of possession, with Eriksen coming into the midfield alongside Bruno Fernandes.
Rasmus Hojlund hasn’t really shown anything that would force him back into the starting 11, so we predict Zirkzee to get the nod again, with Diallo and Rashford on the wings.
Onana;
Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Dalot;
Eriksen, Ugarte, Fernandes;
Diallo, Zirkzee, Rashford.
Opposition Preview
Porto sit second in the Portugese League; 3 points behind Sporting Lisbon on 6 wins and 1 draw.
The pre-competition Europa League favourites; they stumbled to a 3-2 defeat against Norwegian outfit Bodo/Glimt, in one of the biggest upsets of the first round ties.
You can afford to drop some points and do get breathing room in the new Europa League group format, but Porto will still be desperate to get their first points on the board.
The man to watch for Porto is Galeno; a dangerous attacker with 5 goals in 7 this season. The Brazilian has pedigree in Europe; he scored the winner in Porto’s Champions League first-leg tie against Arsenal in February this year.
Form Guide
Manchester United form (all competitions): LWWDDL
Porto form (all competitions): WLWWLW
Prediction
I believe that the bar is set lower than most United fans realise. Omar Berrada wants to win the league by 2028, which means he – and presumably the rest of the board – realise that we are currently nowhere near the best clubs in the league.
Progress from the 8th-place finish this season and potentially a cup run is all that can be expected, which I believe is why Ten Hag will keep his job. 4th place would be a huge overachievement when you look at the other teams in the league.
This game will be a tough ask for United, and I’m not sure we will get over the line with a win, especially given that, with the travel, United will have had 2-3 days’ training max after the Spurs game. I think a draw is actually a decent result here given the above.
Porto 1-1 Manchester United
