Comments and predictions for MU vs Athletic Bilbao: The Red Devils will win by a whisker
The match between MU vs Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League takes place at 2:00 a.m. on May 9. Nghe An Newspaper analyzes performance, makes football comments and predicts the score.
Latest MU vs Athletic Bilbao team information
Manchester United have a fitness concern for Matthijs de Ligt after he was forced off with a muscle injury in the defeat to Brentford. Both De Ligt and Toby Collyer (foot) will be assessed ahead of kick-off, while Lisandro Martinez (knee), Joshua Zirkzee (thigh), Diogo Dalot (calf) and Ayden Heaven (ankle) remain sidelined.
Chido Obi-Martin (17 years, 156 days) became Man United's youngest ever Premier League starter last weekend, but he is ineligible for the Europa League. Rasmus Hojlund will return to the centre-back role, with captain Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho providing support.
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 as a substitute recently – is given a chance to start at right-back.
On Athletic Bilbao's side, important center-back Dani Vivian is suspended after a red card in the first leg, so Aitor Paredes will likely pair up with Yeray Alvarez in center-back.
Coach Valverde said 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 re-evaluated before kick-off.
If Sancet and Nico Williams are not fit, Inaki Williams and Alex Berenguer will start on the wings, while Unai Gomez will take the No. 10 role, supporting either striker Maroan Sannadi or Gorka Guruzeta. Meanwhile, Andoni Gorosabel can play at right-back if De Marcos is not fit enough.
Latest expected lineup 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 commentary on MU vs Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Bilbao had won all six of their Europa League games at San Mames and were unbeaten at home in all competitions for over eight months before Manchester United came from behind to win 3-0 in the first leg, thanks to first-half goals from Bruno Fernandes (a double) and Casemiro, after Bilbao were reduced to 10 men.
The Red Devils remain unbeaten in the Europa League this season (W8 D5) and have the chance to become just the seventh team – and only the second English side after Chelsea in 2018-19 – to reach the final without losing a game. However, manager Ruben Amorim remains cautious, saying “anything can happen in a game”.
Shortly after that resounding victory, Man United were brought back to earth when they lost 3-4 to Brentford in a high-scoring Premier League game last weekend. Notably, it was a match in which Amorim fielded the youngest team in the club’s history in the Premier League.
Man United are currently 15th in the Premier League after 16 defeats in 35 games. They are certain to finish the season with their lowest points tally since the tournament's inception (currently 39 points) and cannot rise higher than 12th. Therefore, winning the Europa League is their only way to qualify for the 2025-26 Champions League.
An encouraging statistic: in Europa League/UEFA Cup history, 133 teams have won the first leg away from home by three or more goals – and all have gone on to progress. Man United are also on an 11-game unbeaten run in the Europa League at Old Trafford since a 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad in September 2022.
Athletic Bilbao last reached a European final in 2011-12. Now they need a historic comeback at Old Trafford if they are to reach the final on home soil. At the same time, they are facing the risk of losing steam in La Liga with a top-four finish under threat.
Having won just five of their last 14 La Liga games, Bilbao are now three points behind fifth-placed Villarreal with just four games left in the season. Last weekend, Ernesto Valverde's men were held to a goalless draw by Real Sociedad, managing just one shot on target in the entire game.
Athletic’s attack has been in trouble, failing to score in six of their last nine games in all competitions, including two of their last three in the Europa League. Valverde admitted that “maintaining competition at this level while having to rotate players is a big challenge”.
The Basque side will need to find their edge in front of goal if they are to become only the second team in major European competition history to come back from three goals down at home in the first leg – after Olympiakos in 2023–24 (lost 1–4, won the second leg 6–1).
Athletic are looking to avoid losing both legs of a European knockout tie for only the third time in their history (after 1967-68 and 2017-18). They have also lost seven of their last nine away trips to England in European competition (W1 D1), although their last trip was a 3-2 win at Old Trafford in March 2012 under Marcelo Bielsa.
Latest MU vs Athletic Bilbao score prediction
Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of 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 to watch MU vs Athletic Bilbao live?
To watch live the match MU vs Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League taking place at 2:00 a.m. on May 9, viewers can watch onK+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. Wish you have fun watching football.
