Manchester United -v- Omonia Nicosia
UEFA Europa League
Old Trafford, Manchester
Thursday 13 October 2022, KO 20:00 BST
Manchester United will welcome Omonia Nicosia to Old Trafford on Thursday evening in the fourth group stage clash of the UEFA Europa League this season. United beat the Cypriot side 3-2 in Nicosia last week after a hard-fought clash, coming from behind and protecting their victory.
United all did the same with Everton in the Premier League at Goodison Park on Sunday evening, coming from behind to earn all three points in the match, winning 2-1. Cristiano Ronaldo was seeking his 700th club career goal against Omonia, finding that against Everton.
The Cypriot side will be heading to Old Trafford for the first time, seeking to get their first points in the bak in the European competition after three defeats in their opening three matches. United sit second in the group with Real Sociedad at the top of the group at this stage.
Manchester United – Form, Goals Scored & Assists
Everton 2-1 W, Omonia Nicosia 3-2 W, Manchester City 6-3 L, FC Sheriff Tiraspol 2-0 W, Real Sociedad 1-0 L, Arsenal 3-1 W
Goals: 5 – Marcus Rashford, 3 – Antony, Anthony Martial, Jadon Sancho, 2 – Cristiano Ronaldo, 1 – Bruno Fernandes, Own Goal
Assists: 3 – Christian Eriksen, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, 1 – Casemiro, Diogo Dalot, Anthony Elanga, Bruno Fernandes, Cristiano Ronaldo
Omonia Nicosia – Form, Goals Scored & Assists
AEL Limassol 1-0 L, Manchester United 3-2 L, Doxa 2-0 W, Paralimni 4-0 W, Real Sociedad 2-1 L, Apollon 2-1 L
Goals: 5 – Bruno, 2 – Karim Ansarifard, Charalampos Charalampous, Roman Bezus, 1 – Brandon Barker, Andronikos Kakoullis, Nemanja Miletic, Nikolas Panagiotou, Fotis Papoulis, Panagiotis Zachariou
Assists: 3 – Bruno, Andronikos Kakoullis, Jan Lecjaks, 2 – Karim Ansarifard, 1 – Roman Bezus, Adam Matthews, Fotis Papoulis, Héctor Yuste
Previous Meetings & Connections
United and Omonia played their first match last week with United winning 3-2. Marcus Rashford scored a brace with Anthony Martial scoring the other goal. United came from behind to win the match with Omonia scoring in the first half.
It was not the first time that United had played at the GSP Stadium though, playing in the UEFA Champions League group stage against Maccabi Haifa back in 2002, losing 3-0. It was the first time they had won in Cyprus though. Now they welcome the Cypriot side to Old Trafford.
There are currently no connections between United and Omonia with no players playing for both clubs. However, there have bee a few players who have played under Neil Lennon, including Ben Amos, Saidy Janko, Paul Rachubka and Andy Kellett.
Team News
Harry Maguire, Donny van de Beek, Brandon Williams, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Anthony Martial are currently ruled out ahead of the Europa League clash with Omonia at Old Trafford. With Scott McTominay suspended for the Newcastle match, he could start in this one.
Ten Hag could introduce the likes of Zidane Iqbal and Kobbie Mainoo to the squad ahead of this match to add some strength in depth in the midfield positions, unless Van de Beek is going to be fit ahead of the visit to Old Trafford. I am sure he has a plan to keep United strong.
Omonia goalkeeper Fabiano suffered an injury in Monday’s defeat to AEL Limassol and Neil Lennon feels he will miss Thursday’s match too. Gary Hooper and Moreto Cassama were both in action on Monday evening giving a suggestion that could be involved on Thursday.
Predicted Manchester United Starting XI – 4-2-3-1
De Gea;
Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw;
Casemiro, Eriksen;
Antony, Fernandes, Rashford;
Ronaldo
Predicted Omonia Nicosia Starting XI – 4-2-3-1
Panagi;
Matthews, Miletic, Lang, Lecjaks;
Charalampous, Diskerud;
Loizou, Papoulis, Bruno;
Ansarifard
Match Prediction
United have bounced back well following the 6-3 defeat to Manchester City just over a week ago. Getting two wins, coming from behind in both shows that this squad has what it takes to grind results out. Against both Omonia and Everton, United scored six goals, conceded three.
Progress from this Europa League group is expected this season and United will need to win again on Thursday evening to put themselves in a good position of that actually happening. United must win their next three matches in the group to get out of it.
That said, it is a difficult period for United ahead of the World Cup with ten matches to be played in just over four weeks before players will join top with their international teams before heading to Qatar. United will need to rotate their squad wisely to keep ahead of injuries and fatigue.
Manchester United 3-1 Omonia Nicosia
Written by John Walker
