Manchester United will return to UEFA Europa League action this evening when they travel to Belgium to face Club Brugge in the round of 32 at the Jan Breydel Stadium. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be seeking to guide his team into the round of 16 of the competition this season as it is one of two chances they will have to qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season; winning this competition or finishing inside the top four of the Premier League.
United beat Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Monday evening, the second time they have done so at the stadium this season, the third time they have beaten Frank Lampard’s team this season – scoring eight goals, conceding just one. Solskjaer will be happy to see him team get a league double over Chelsea for the first time in more than 20 years, boosting the squads confidence after what has been a poor season so far. The last time United faced Brugge, almost five years ago, they beat them twice.
Manchester United:
Romero;
Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw;
Dalot, Matic, Pereira, Williams;
Mata, Lingard;
Martial
Substitutes:
De Gea; Bailly, Wan-Bissaka; Fred, Fernandes, James; Ighalo
Club Brugge:
Mignolet;
Mata, Kossounou, Mechele, Deli;
Rits, Balanta, Vanaken;
Bonaventure, Tau, De Cuyper
Substitutes:
Okereke, Mitrovic, Schrijvers, Ricca, Horvath, Vormer, de Ketelaere
United and Club Brugge have played a total of two matches in this history of both clubs with the first match being played in 2015. United have won both matches which were played during the qualification rounds of the UEFA Champions League during the 2015/16 season. At Old Trafford, United won 3-1 with an own goal by Michael Carrick putting Brugge ahead then a brace from Memphis Depay followed by a goal from Marouane Fellaini put United in the driving seat to reach the group stages.
Away from home at the Jan Breydel Stadium, United won 4-0 with a hat-trick from Wayne Rooney and Ander Herrera scoring the final goal of the match. United beat the Belgian side 7-1 on aggregate to reach the group stages of the Champions League. United have always done well against Belgian teams in Europe, playing a total of ten matches, winning seven, drawing once and losing twice – scoring 32 goals, conceding nine.
