In all likelihood, Manchester United will finish off Granada and progress through to the UEFA Europa League semifinals. It’s looking likely that the opponent awaiting them will be AS Roma, as the side from the eternal city is up 2-1 on Ajax in their quarterfinal tie.
United are up 2-0 from last week, and that means we’ll see a lot of changes from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in his starting lineup. Some first team guys will remain, while others will be in the starting lineup, but later subbed off early.
Manchester United vs Granada UEL Quarterfinal Leg 2/2 FYIs
Aggregate: United lead 2-0
Kickoff: Thurs April 15, 8pm, Old Trafford
Team News for both sides: go here
Odds: United win -230 Draw +360 Granada win +600
UEL Outright Odds: United -105 Granada +10000
With quite a few injury and suspension issues to contend with in this clash, OGS will have some selection limitations and he’ll have to get creative. He went with a strong first team in the second leg of the Real Sociedad tie, despite being up 4-0, so he may do the same here.
However, this match also presents a chance for youngster Amad Diallo to start, especially if Dan James is hurt. We could see some off the bench minutes for defender Will Fish who trained in the first team this week, as did Anthony Elanga and Shola Shoretire.
Also, it seems official now that Dean Henderson has leapfrogged David de Gea on the depth chart now. He’s the No. 1 while De Gea is the cup competition keeper.
Manchester United Starting XI Prediction vs Granada (Europa League)
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Tuanzebe, Telles; Matic, Van de Beek; Diallo, Fernandes, Greenwood; Cavani
Prediction: United 1, Granada 0
The Norwegian won’t take his foot of the gas pedal completely, but will ease up in the second half as this tie becomes closer to being put to bed.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, 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,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.