PREVIEW: Man Utd v Sevilla

Manchester United will take on Sevilla in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final at Old Trafford. The English side are the only Premier League team still participating in this European competition, with Sevilla being La Liga's only representatives. Both teams will be looking to get a head start for the second leg at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium.
The Red Devils are on a winning streak as they have only lost one game - against Newcastle - in the last five they have played. Furthermore, Ten Hag's side knocked out Sevilla's arch-rivals Real Betis in the last 16 and this time the English side return to Spain to face the six-time Europa League winners.
Elsewhere, Sevilla are on a poor run of results in La Liga as they are in 13th place on 32 points while Manchester United have managed to climb to fourth place in the Premier League and reach the Champions League places. However, the Andalusians have managed to reach the quarter-finals thanks to superb performances against PSV and Fenerbahce.
Mendilibar's side are the team with the most Europa League trophies, having won their sixth title against Inter Milan in 2020. Nonetheless, Manchester United can change their plans on Thursday.
In fact, Erik ten Hag is aware that it will be a 'tough game' but the Red Devils are up for the challenge and will be looking to book their ticket to the next round of European competition. "They have a very good record and we have to be aware of it. It's going to be tough, they are very experienced in the Europa League and have won it so many times," said the Dutchman.
Meanwhile, Sevilla will be looking for a reaction to please their fans after their poor results in the Spanish league. They have made many changes to their team in order to improve their performances and succeed in the Europa League.
The Andalusians sacked their coach Jorge Sampaoli before facing Manchester United. The Argentine failed to live up to the club's expectations and Jose Luis Mendilibar is currently in charge of the Spanish club. In fact, Mendilibar has no experience in European competitions and this will be a big challenge for his professional career.
The Spanish team are having a lot of crises with the board. This is the third manager to coach Sevilla since the sacking of Julen Lopetegui, who is currently in charge of Wolves in the Premier League.
At the same time, the Red Devils are for sale as the current owners, the Glazer family, are receiving offers. Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani and British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe have rival bids on the table. We will soon hear from the new owners of the English club because negotiations are still ongoing.
However, the latest news that most concerns both teams for Thursday's match is the players who are injured. Manchester United announced on Wednesday that Marcus Rashford will not be available for the match against Sevilla.
"Marcus Rashford will be unavailable for Thursday’s UEFA Europa League quarter-final game against Sevilla because of a muscle injury," they wrote on their website. The England international has scored 28 goals and provided eight assists this season.
The Red Devils will be without their top goalscorer for their next European match but Erik ten Hag is not worried: "We have many more players across the squad who can score," he said.
Luke Shaw, Alejandro Garnacho and Donny van de Beek will also miss the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final due to injury. Nonetheless, Casemiro, who was banned, and Christian Eriksen, who has recovered from injury, will be available to bolster United's midfield.
Elsewhere, Sevilla will not be able to count on Joan Jordan, who has scored two goals this season. The current Sevilla coach knows that his team are not in the best form for this game but he is confident his side can deliver some cup magic.
"I'm convinced that, in Europe, Sevilla are respected more than in La Liga, because of what they have done in the Europa League, with a lot of titles quite recently. In Manchester they will feel they are favourites, but with respect for Sevilla," Mendilibar claimed.
The two clubs have met three times in European competitions and Manchester United have been unable to beat the Andalusians. The last match between them was played on 16th August 2020 and Sevilla won 2-1 in the Europa League.
Nevertheless, the Red Devils have won four of their last four games - against Real Betis, Fulham, Brentford and Everton. They have only lost to Newcastle in the Premier League.
Sevilla have only won two of their last five matches against Almeria and Cadiz. They drew 2-2 against Celta Vigo and lost against Fenerbahce and Getafe. As a result, Manchester United could get redemption on Thursday and end their poor run against Sevilla.
Referee: Felix Zwayer
VAR: Christian Dingert
Game: Manchester United v Sevilla
Location: Old Trafford, Manchester
Time: 13th April 2023, 21.00 CEST