Manchester United return to Europa League (UEL) action when they welcome Cyprus side Omonia Nicosia to Old Trafford for the fourth round of the UEL 2022/23 season.
Venue: Old Trafford
Key Statistics
Manchester United have come from behind to win their last two games.
The hosts have seven wins from their last nine games (L2).
They have suffered just one defeat in their last 20 home matches in this competition (W15, D4).
Manchester United have never lost two home group games in a single European campaign.
Omonia Nicosia have never won an away group game in European football (D3, L4).
Six of the eight goals Omonia have conceded in this competition came after half-time.
They have lost six of their last nine games in all competitions (W3).
Andronikos Kakoullis is Omonia’s joint-second leading scorer in the UEL. The forward has four goal contributions in his last three appearances in the competition (G1, A3).
Head to head
Manchester United won the first and only meeting between both sides.
Latest performances in all competitions
Manchester United: W-W-L-W-L
Omonia Nicosia: L-L-W-W-L
Manchester United
Manchester United will look to take a step closer to qualifying for the next stage of the Europa League when they welcome Omonia Nicosia to Old Trafford this Thursday.
After playing out a 2-3 win away at Cyprus, the Red Devils will be out to secure back-to-back victories against their Cypriot opponents. They are also looking to make it three wins in a row in the Europa League after losing their opening game to Real Sociedad.
The Red Devils come into this game off the back of a 1-2 win over Everton in the Premier League last Sunday. The game against Frank Lampard’s side centred around the injury to Anthony Martial, who picked up an early injury in the first half, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored his 700th club goal in the game.
The French man who has been on form this season has made six goal contributions (four goals, two assists) in four appearances this season amid his injury-induced absence, and laid on the pass for Brazilian Antony for the equaliser at Goodison Park after the Toffees had taken the lead through Alex Iwobi in the sixth minute.
But Cristiano Ronaldo, who replaced Anthony Martial, sealed all three points for Manchester United by scoring his first League goal of the season, a strike that saw him take his tally to 700 goals in club football alone.
With Anthony Martial out injured, there will be more pressure on head coach Erik Ten Hag to play Cristiano Ronaldo more often, but for the game against Omonia Nicosia, the Dutch coach will most certainly start the Portuguese talisman who has started all three of Manchester United’s matches in the Europa League this season with a goal and an assist to show for it.
Manchester United sit second in Group E, three points behind Real Sociedad. The Red Devils will now focus their energy on maintaining their grip on the qualification berths, and another win over the Cyprus side will take them a step closer to their objective.
Possible Manchester United starting line-up
David de Gea; Diogo Dalot, Victor Lindelöf, Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia; Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Jadon Sancho; Marcus Rashford, Anthony, Cristiano Ronaldo
Injured: Anthony Martial, Harry Maguire, Brandon Williams, Donny van de Beek, Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Omonia Nicosia
Omonia Nicosia sit bottom of Group E with zero points after three rounds of football.
Neil Lennon’s side look set to miss out on European football. But with just three points separating them from Sheriff Tiraspol in third place, the Northern Irishman will be keen to see his side challenge the Moldovan side for a place in the third-tier UEFA League–Europa Conference League.
However, the Cypriots find themselves at a rough patch, having lost three of their matches amid a poor run of games both in the domestic league where they sit sixth after losing three and winning three of their last six games, including a 1-0 loss to AEL in their last outing.
After finding the back of the net twice against Manchester United in the first leg, Neil Lennon will urge his side to be more adventurous and yet defensively compact. But they face a daunting task when they travel to Old Trafford, and with European football slipping away from the horizon, the Cypriots are expected to give it their best shot in the game.
Possible Omonia Nicosia starting line-up
Fabinho; Adam Matthews, Nemanja Miletic, Adam Lang, Nikolas Panaglotou, Jan Lecjaks; Brandon Barker, Moreto Cassama, Charalampos Charalampous, Mix Diskerud; Bruno.
Injured: Fouad Bachirou, Ioannis Kousoulos
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Manchester United 2-0 Omonia Nicosia
