Manchester United are heavy favorites to win 2019-20 the Europa League competition, and they enter the restarted portion of the tournament very loose and free. Having already secured UEFA Champions League qualification for next season, via a third place finish in the Premier League, they don’t have the added stress of trying to get back into UCL by winning this tourney.
That said, this is a chance for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to win his first trophy as a manager, so he’ll go full throttle after it. Maybe not so much in this specific clash though, as United have an insurmountable lead with the road leg of the tie already complete.
“They need mental and physical time away from the place because the effort has been fantastic, so recharge the batteries for a few days and then go again,” Solskjaer said yesterday of his team with training having now resumed again.
“We’ve got LASK and a 5-0 lead, so we don’t have to go in that game chasing a two or three-goal win. We just want a good performance and hopefully that will be enough to get into the quarters.”
While this match will be played behind closed doors, just like every match in all competitions out of the restart, this tie is very unique in that both legs were staged without fans. Back on March 12, when United won in a route, despite playing an injury-riddled patchwork side, the Linzer Stadion was empty due to coronavirus fears.
Just five months ago, doesn’t that feel like another time and era right now? It was early to mid-March that the sports world began closing down due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Manchester United vs LASK Linz Europa League Round of 16 Leg 2/2 FYIs
Kickoff: Wed Aug 5, 8pm, Old Trafford, Stretford, Manchester, UK
First Leg: United won 5-0
United Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Form Guide (all competitions) United WDLWD LASK LLLWW
Odds: United 1/4 Draw 9/2 LASK 11/1
Prediction: United 3, LASK Linz 0
Even the B-team should be able to get a big result in this one, although it is remains to be seen just how hard OGS will really push the guys here.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
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