Courtesy: Republic World
The 2020/21 season is coming to an end, and attention will shortly shift to UEFA Euro 2020. But first, there’s some serious work to be done, as Villarreal and Manchester United meet in the UEFA Europa League final in Gdansk this week, with both teams vying for their first prize of the season.
The Yellow Submarine dispatched Arsenal 2-1 on aggregate in the final four to proceed to the showpiece event, while Manchester United defeated Roma 8-5 over two legs as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seeks his first piece of silverware since taking office.
This season, Villarreal is unblemished in the Europa League. They have also scored in 13 of their 14 games, with the only exception being the 0-0 draw in the second leg of their semi-final against Arsenal. Unai Emery will win his fourth Europa League trophy if they win on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s players have a wonderful chance to top off a season in which they have demonstrated significant improvement with a major prize. Manchester United’s camp is well-rested after they fielded a mainly inexperienced XI against Wolves on the final day of the Premier League season.
Team news: Unai Emery’s preparations for the UEFA Europa League final against Manchester United are not hampered by any major injury concerns. However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been concerned about a crucial player’s fitness ahead of the trip to Gdansk. Manchester United manager will be without captain Harry Maguire, who has been missing in action since sustaining an ankle injury earlier this week against Aston Villa.
Line up predictions:
Villarreal Predicted XI (4-4-2): Sergio Asenjo; Alfonso Pedraza, Pau Torres, Raul Albiol, Mario Gaspar; Etienne Capoue, Dani Parejo, Manuel Trigueros; Yeremi Pino, Gerard Moreno, Carlos Bacca.
Manchester United Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): David de Gea; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw, Fred, Scott McTominay; Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba; Edinson Cavani.
Predictions for the game:
Villareal 1-2 Manchester United
Moreno and co will scent blood if Maguire is ruled out, and Villarreal should have no problems breaking through the Red Devils’ defense, but we can see the trophy returning to Manchester as Solskjaer’s relentless attackers drive his team to victory in Gdansk.