Europa League 2019/20, Manchester United vs FC Astana: Match preview, where to watch, betting information, match prediction, and more

Match preview

Manchester United kick start their Europa League campaign this season by welcoming FC Astana to Old Trafford on Thursday. The Red Devils won the tournament the last time that they were a part of it, in 2016/17, and Solskjaer will be hoping to repeat the feat this year. United is a part of Group L this season, alongside AZ Alkmaar, FC Astana, and Partizan Belgrade.

The Red Devils are arriving at the game after a hard-fought win at home against Leicester City in the Premier League, where a solitary goal from Marcus Rashford was enough to earn Solskjaer’s wards all three points. Their opponents, FC Astana, also come into the tie high on confidence, after beating Shakhter Karagandy 2-1 on Sunday in the Kazakhstan Premier League. The Kazakhstan side are currently 3rd in the table, five points off the top, with two games in hand.

Here, we bring you all the information regarding the game.

Kick-off information

Date: 20th September 2019

Time: 20:00 BST, 00:30 (IST, 21st September)

Venue: Old Trafford

Where to watch: Live stream on Sony Liv

Form guide

Last five games in all competitions

Manchester United – W-D-L-D-W

FC Astana – W-L-W-W-W

Head to head

The two teams have never faced each other before. In fact, FC Astana have not faced an English opposition since its inception in 2009. Interestingly, they were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League Qualifiers in both 2016 and 2017 by Celtic.

Manchester United predicted starting XI

Sergio Romero; Axel Tuanzebe, Victor Lindelof, Phil Jones, Ashley Young; Fred, Scott McTominay, Andreas Pereira; Tahith Chong, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood.

Key players to watch out for

32-year-old Croatian striker Marin Tomasov could cause the Manchester United defense quite a few problems on Thursday. The Red Devils have managed two clean sheets from five games so far this season, but the backline could be put to test by Tomasov, who has already scored 19 times since the start of the season in March.

Rashford will be looking to add to his tally against FC Astana.

With Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba out with injuries and Daniel James still not a 100% fit, the onus could be on Marcus Rashford yet again to be the match-winner for the Red Devils. The Englishman has scored three goals from five games so far this season.

Match Prediction

On the back of a stellar defensive display against Leicester City, the Red Devils might just have enough firepower to prevail in this game as well. United will also see this game as a chance to boost their confidence and entertain Old Trafford with a goal-fest.

Predicted score: Manchester United 3-0 FC Astana