Manchester United travel away to face Partizan Belgrade in Europa League

Manchester United will be looking to break the run of six winless games when they travel away to face Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League.

The Red Devils will be looking to build upon their promising display against Liverpool in Premier League on Sunday.

Manchester United have endured a torrid season till now as they currently sit on 14^th position in the league. United’s last win in regular time came against Astana in Europa League way back in September. The Red Devils won against Rochdale on penalties but remain winless in past four league games.

The Old Trafford outfit won their opening game in Europa League against Astana. In the second gameweek, they struggled against AZ Alkmaar and were lucky to come back home with one point.

Partizan Belgrade meanwhile is also enduring a mixed domestic campaign. They are currently fifth in the league, seven points behind Red Star Belgrade. Partizan is also unbeaten in the Europa League as they have four points after two games. United have struggled away from home since March. Partizan are more than capable of piling more misery for Solksjaer’s team.

Team News

Manchester United have been struggling with injury problems in the past couple of months. Paul Pogba and Luke Shaw are yet to completely recover from their respective injuries. Axel Tuanzebe became the latest player to go to the treatment room as he suffered a muscle injury in the warm-up session against Liverpool.

Anthony Martial is completely fit now after making his comeback against Liverpool on Sunday. The French forward should be in line to start against the Serbian team, giving Marcus Rashford a much-needed break. Jesse Lingard also returned to training on Wednesday after suffering a hamstring injury against Arsenal a few weeks ago.

David De Gea, Tahith Chong, and Angel Gomes have not travelled with the first-team squad. Ethan Laird is the latest youth player to be involved in the matchday squad as he was part of the team that left Manchester for Belgrade.

Partizan will have a strong squad for this game as Lazar Markovic is the only player that remains on the sideline due to injury.

From the Dugout

In the pre-match press conference (via FK Partizan), Savo Milosevic admitted that his team is ready to give a tough fight to Manchester United.

“The most important thing is we’re ready. We don’t have many opportunities to play such big matches. We want to measure ourselves against them.”

“We know they won’t play three in defense like against Liverpool. It’s difficult to predict their line up.”

Ole Gunnar Solksjaer told media (via Man Utd) that the Europa League is an important competition for the club as it remains a route to qualify for next year’s Champions League.

“The Europa League is important for us. The last time we were in it, we won it.”

“Qualifying for the Champions League next season is an aim, so whether it’s through the top four or the Europa League, it doesn’t matter.”

Head to Head

Manchester United and Partizan Belgrade have not been involved in a competitive game since 1965/66. Partizan came out victorious in that tie when they beat United 2-1 aggregate in the semi-finals of European Champions Clubs’ Cup. United are currently in a vulnerable state, so Partizan have a good chance to repeat history.