Manchester United's last four Europa League campaigns have seen them reach, at least, the quarter-finals, featuring in two finals, winning one of them, so they have to be amongst the favourites to be in Bilbao on 21 May.
Manchester United vs Twente Preview
Will Manchester United start this new-look Europa League campaign by collecting all three points? Following the tournament's expansion, the Red Devils will play eight matches in the league phase, with trips to both Porto and then José Mourinho's Fenerbahçe coming up next, thereby making victory here of paramount importance.
Well, last mid-week, Erik ten Hag's team smashed Barnsley 7-0 in the Carabao Cup, but were unable to build on that, held to a goalless draw at Crystal Palace on Saturday. This leaves Man United 11th in the Premier League, set to face Spurs and then Aston Villa in their next two games. Thus, defeat here would be catastrophic for ten Hag.
So, are FC Twente capable of a major upset at Old Trafford? Last season's third-placed finish in the Eredivisie represented their best campaign for a decade, earning the Reds a spot in Champions League qualifying, where they were dumped out by RB Salzburg, beaten 2-1 in Austria before a thrilling 3-3 draw in Enschede was not enough.
Joseph Oosting's side did warm-up for this glamour tie by smashing Almere City 5-0 on Sunday, making it back-to-back Eredivisie victories, climbing up to fourth. In Europe meantime, Twente are far from regulars, their most-recent group phase appearance coming in 2012, while they've never won in England in seven attempts, losing five of them. Thus, most expect Manchester United to be too strong.
Manchester United vs Twente Head-to-Head Record
These two clubs have never previously met.
Manchester United Form Guide: DWWLL
- Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester United
- Manchester United 7-0 Barnsley
- Southampton 0-3 Manchester United
- Manchester United 0-3 Liverpool
- Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Manchester United
Twente Form Guide: WWDLD
- Almere City 0-5 Twente
- Twente 2-0 Heerenveen
- Twente 1-1 PEC Zwolle
- Utrecht 2-1 Twente
- Twente 1-1 Sparta Rotterdam
Manchester United Team News
Leny Yoro, Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw are all sidelined, although Rasmus Højlund did feature for the first time in this campaign at Selhurst on Saturday. Altay Bayındır made just his second appearance for the club against Barnsley, but André Onana is likely to be donning the gloves.
Marcus Rashford is likely to return to the team, having been controversially left on the bench at the weekend. Erik ten Hag made 257 appearances for Twente during his playing career, meaning only 13 men have appeared more frequently for Man United's opponents than their manager.
Manchester United predicted lineup vs Twente: (4-1-4-1): Onana; Dalot, Maguire, Evans, Collyer; Casemiro, Eriksen, Fernandes; Antony, Rashford, Zirkzee.
Manchester United Player to Watch vs Twente
Captain Bruno Fernandes has scored 20 career Europa League goals, doing so in just 44 appearances, so can he further improve that ratio?
Twente Team News
Joseph Oosting's squad features former Norwich striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel and centre-back Gustaf Lagerbielke, who's just arrived from Celtic, although neither are likely to start. Sem Steijn is their danger man, having already scored seven times this season, including five in his last three outings.
Twente predicted lineup vs Manchester United: (4-2-3-1): Unnerstall; van Rooij, Hilgers, Burns, Salah-Eddine; Regeer, Eiting, Rots, Steijn, van Bergen; Lammers.
Twente Player to Watch vs Manchester United
Sam Lammers will lead the FC Twente line; he endured a nightmare six-month spell at Rangers this time last year, widely ridiculed for his poor performances, loaned out to FC Utrecht for the second half of last season, netting 11 times in just 20 appearances for them. This earned him a £2.5 million move to the Reds this summer, on target in all three Eredivisie away games so far this campaign, so will his scoring spree on the road extend to Manchester?
Manchester United vs Twente Prediction
Manchester United have won 19 of their last 25 Europa League home games, losing only one, a trend we're very much expecting to continue, with the Red Devils surely set to be far too strong: Manchester United 2-0 Twente.
Manchester United vs Twente FAQs - Europa League
How to watch Manchester United vs Twente Europa League game on TV channel?
Manchester United vs Twente Europa League game will be available on the following TV channels;
- UK: TNT Sports 1
- USA: Paramount+ & Univision
- Canada: DAZN Canada
How to watch Manchester United vs Twente Europa League game on live streaming?
Manchester United vs Twente Europa League game will be available on the following streaming services;
- UK: Discovery+
- USA: Paramount+, fuboTV, TUDN.com, NOWTUDN & AppViX.
- Canada: DAZN Canada
What is the date and kick-off time for Manchester United vs Twente in the Europa League?
Manchester United vs Twente in the Europa League takes place on Wednesday 25 September 2024, with kick off at 20:00 (BST), 15:00 (ET) & 12:00 (PDT).