Analysis and prediction for MU vs Athletic Bilbao: The Red Devils will win by a narrow margin.

Latest Manchester United vs Athletic Bilbao team news

Manchester United are concerned about the fitness of Matthijs de Ligt after he left the pitch with a muscle injury in the defeat to Brentford. Both De Ligt and Toby Collyer (leg) will be checked before the match, while Lisandro Martinez (knee), Joshua Zirkzee (thigh), Diogo Dalot (calf) and Ayden Heaven (ankle) are still unavailable.

Chido Obi-Martin (17 years, 156 days old) became the youngest player ever to start for Man United in the Premier League last weekend, but he is not eligible to play in the Europa League. Rasmus Hojlund will return to the starting lineup as striker, with captain Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho providing support from behind.

Coach Amorim is considering giving Victor Lindelof a starting spot at centre-back. Noussair Mazraoui could also be moved to right-sided centre-back if Amad Diallo – who has impressed recently when coming on as a substitute – is given a chance to start at right wing-back.

On Athletic Bilbao's side, key central defender Dani Vivian is suspended after receiving a red card in the first leg, so Aitor Paredes will most likely partner Yeray Alvarez in central defense.

Coach Valverde said that three key players, including striker Nico Williams, veteran defender Oscar De Marcos, and top scorer Oihan Sancet – who missed the first leg due to a hamstring injury – will all be reassessed before kick-off.

If Sancet and Nico Williams are not fit in time, Inaki Williams and Alex Berenguer will play on the wings, while Unai Gomez will take on the number 10 role, supporting one of the two strikers, Maroan Sannadi or Gorka Guruzeta. Meanwhile, Andoni Gorosabel could play right back if De Marcos is not fit enough.

Latest predicted lineups for MU vs Athletic Bilbao

Manchester United:
Onana; Lindelof, Maguire, Yoro; Mazraoui, Ugarte, Casemiro, Dorgu; Fernandes, Garnacho; Hojlund

Athletic Bilbao:
Agirrezabala; De Marcos, Paredes, Alvarez, Berchiche; De Galarreta, Jauregizar; I. Williams, Berenguer, N. Williams; Sannadi

Latest football match prediction: MU vs Athletic Bilbao

Athletic Bilbao had won all six of their Europa League matches at San Mames and remained unbeaten at home for over eight months in all competitions, before Manchester United unexpectedly arrived and secured a resounding 3-0 victory in the first leg. This win came from first-half goals by Bruno Fernandes (a brace) and Casemiro, after Bilbao were reduced to 10 men.

Manchester United remain unbeaten in the Europa League this season (8 wins, 5 draws) and have a chance to become the seventh team – and the second English team after Chelsea in the 2018–19 season – to reach the final without losing a single game. However, manager Ruben Amorim remains cautious, stating that “anything can happen in a match.”

Immediately following that resounding victory, Man United were brought back down to earth when they lost 3-4 to Brentford in a high-scoring Premier League match last weekend. Notably, it was a game where Amorim fielded the youngest team in the club's history in the Premier League.

Manchester United currently sit 15th in the Premier League after 16 defeats in 35 matches. They are certain to finish the season with their lowest points total since the league's inception (currently 39 points) and cannot climb above 12th place. Therefore, winning the Europa League is their only way to qualify for the Champions League in the 2025-26 season.

An encouraging statistic: in the history of the Europa League/UEFA Cup, 133 teams have won the first leg away from home by three goals or more – and all of them have gone on to progress. Man United also have an unbeaten run of 11 consecutive Europa League matches at Old Trafford since their 0-1 defeat to Real Sociedad in September 2022.

The last time Athletic Bilbao reached a European final was in the 2011–12 season. Now, they need a historic comeback at Old Trafford if they want to play in the final at home. At the same time, they also face the risk of falling behind in La Liga as their top-four position is under threat.

Having won only 5 of their last 14 La Liga matches, Bilbao are now trailing Villarreal – who are in fifth place – to just three points with only four rounds remaining. Last weekend, Ernesto Valverde's team only managed a goalless draw against Real Sociedad and only had one shot on target throughout the entire game.

Athletic's attack is struggling, having failed to score in six of their last nine games across all competitions, including two of their last three Europa League matches. Coach Valverde admitted that "maintaining competitiveness at this level while rotating the squad is a huge challenge."

The Basque team must rediscover their sharpness in front of goal if they want to become only the second team in the history of major European tournaments to come back after being three goals down at home in the first leg – after Olympiakos in the 2023–24 season (losing 1-4, winning the second leg 6-1).

Athletic are trying to avoid losing both legs of a European knockout round for the third time in history (after the 1967–68 and 2017–18 seasons). They have also lost seven of their last nine away European trips to England (one win, one draw), although their most recent trip was a 3–2 victory at Old Trafford in March 2012 under manager Marcelo Bielsa.

Latest MU vs Athletic Bilbao score prediction

Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for the match.MU vs Athletic Bilbaoas follows:

• Sportsmole:MU 3-1 Athletic Bilbao

• WhoScore:MU 3-2 Athletic Bilbao
• Our newspaper predicts:MU 3-2 Athletic Bilbao

When and where can I watch the MU vs Athletic Bilbao match live?

To watch the MU vs Athletic Bilbao match live in the Europa League, taking place at 2:00 AM on May 9th, viewers can tune in to the following channels:K+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. We hope you enjoy watching football.