What’s the story?
Manchester United travel to Saint-Etienne to play their UEFA Europa League round of 32-second leg at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, but their game scheduling seems to have raised some eyebrows. The two teams will meet on the 22nd of this month, less than a week after the first leg, which was played at Old Trafford.
A match on Wednesday in Europe usually means only one thing – Champions League action. But as luck may have it, Manchester United will also get a chance to play on Wednesday, with their Europa League round of 32 match being preponed.
Also read: 5 reasons why Manchester United can win the Europa League this season
Traditionally, Europa League matches are played on Thursday evenings and are spread out over two time-slots. However, in this case, Lyon, who play less than 35 miles down the road from Etienne, also have a home tie and thus the game must be moved.
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Olympique Lyonnais host Dutch side AZ Alkmaar on Thursday and thus UEFA have decided to move Manchester United’s clash. Lyon are allowed to keep the advantage mainly due to the fact that they finished higher in Ligue 1 last season than Saint Etienne.
However, two other games also take place on Wednesday, as Schalke host PAOK Salonika and Fenerbahce welcome FK Krasnodar.
The heart of the matter
Although Manchester United did manage to break Saint Etienne’s unbeaten European record this season, the home side still have a lot to play for come Wednesday night. They are unbeaten in their last ten European home games, although four out of their five fixtures ended in draws, three of them goalless.
Manchester United will be very happy with the first leg result and with a 3-0 aggregate, they'll be confident of getting the job done before their clash with Southampton in the EFL Cup final during the weekend.
The timing of their second leg clash should also allow Jose Mourinho to make big changes to his team line-up without worrying about resting his key players before the final. With the game being played on Wednesday night instead of Thursday, he will also want to ensure that complacency doesn’t set in, especially with the fact that his team will not be playing any Premier League matches this month.
What's next?
With a spot in the last 16 of the Europa League guaranteed, bar any major mistakes, and their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals also cemented, Mourinho’s next target would be winning his first title with the club. While the EFL Trophy isn’t as big as the FA Cup, it’s a very good start for the Portuguese manager, who left the Premier League last season empty-handed.
Also read: Jose Mourinho has to take the Europa League seriously
With a chance at a treble still within his grasp, Mourinho will not want to let that slip away quite so easily. However, considering that his FA Cup clash is against Premier League leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, the former Blues boss will not want his successor, Antonio Conte, reducing his chances to win what is a very important domestic title.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Considering the fact that Manchester United’s top-four place in the Premier league is less than guaranteed, Mourinho will take the Europa League a lot more seriously than he did at the start of the season.
The Portuguese boss still has a chance to win a treble in his first season, something unheard of in modern day football and he should look to rest his key players ahead of the EFL Cup final against Southampton.
The preponing of the game will help United’s cause as it will give them an extra day off before their aforementioned final.
