MANCHESTER UNITED v ANDERLECHT
Thursday 20th April 2017 – Kickoff: 2005 hrs
Football – Europe – Europa League Betting Tips
Manchester United achieved what they wanted in Belgium in last week’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Anderlecht, and that was to avoid defeat. A 1-1 draw now means they should hold the upper hand at Old Trafford in tonight’s second leg as the Red Devils look to progress to the semi-final.
Mourinho’s Manchester United finished runners-up in the group stages to Turkish club Fenerbahce, but as Group A winners Fenerbahce fell in the knockout stages in the round of last 16 to Krasnodar, Manchester United have continued their european journey with wins over Saint-Etienne and Rostov.
But the underlying factor of Mourinho’s style of management is that his sides look to avoid defeat first at all costs, and then chase for a win. The hosts have registered four clean sheets from their five home games played in the Europa League to date this season, and this underlines my point. Wayne Rooney may return for Manchester United this evening.
Visitors Anderlecht saved their first leg tie with Manchester United through Dendoncker who equalised for the Belgian outfit in last week’s 1-1 draw, and although things could have been worse for tonight’s visitors ahead of their trip to Manchester, they’ll do well to progress to the semi-finals from here.
Anderlecht finished runners-up to Saint-Etienne in Group C to continue into the knockout stages where they’ve registered wins over Zenit and APOEL Nicosia, but they face a difficult challenge against Manchester United this evening.
The last time these two teams met at Old Trafford, Manchester United crushed Anderlecht in a 5-1 victory under Alex Ferguson, but I’ll back the hosts to register a more modest 1-0 win here perhaps.
Pick: Manchester United to win to nil @ 1.95 bwin
