Preview: United up to the challenge of Plzeň? Hojlund, Fernandes & Garnacho to lead the attack? Casemiro & Mainoo in midfield?

Viktoria Plzeň -v- Manchester United

UEFA Europa League

Doosan Arena, Plzeň

Thursday 12 December 2024, KO 17:45 GMT

Manchester United return to UEFA Europa League action on Thursday night where they will travel to the Czech Republic to face Viktoria Plzeň at the Doosan Arena. United have won their last two matches in the Europa League and will be seeking to end 2024 on a high in Europe by beating Plzeň.

United are currently on two defeats in a row having lost 2-0 to Arsenal in midweek last week and 3-2 to Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford on Saturday evening. Ruben Amorim will need to pull something out of the bag to get a result against the Czech side on Thursday evening, which is very important.

United sit in 12th place in the league phase table of the Europa League at the time of writing with Plzeň sitting in 13th place with both teams having nine points from their first five matches in the competition this season. United will need to go back to winning ways to get in the top eight to reach the round of 16, avoiding a play off round.

United – Form, Goals Scored & Assists

Forest 3-2 L, Arsenal 2-0 L, Everton 4-0 W, Bodø/Glimt 3-2 W, Ipswich 1-1 D, Leicester 3-0 W

Goals: 8 – Alejandro Garnacho, 7 – Marcus Rashford, 5 – Bruno Fernandes, Rasmus Hojlund, 4 – Christian Eriksen, 3 – Amad, Casemiro, Joshua Zirkzee, 1 – Antony, Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire

Assists: 9 – Bruno Fernandes, 6 – Amad, 4 – Alejandro Garnacho, 3 – Christian Eriksen, Marcus Rashford, 2 – Diogo Dalot, Noussair Mazraoui, Joshua Zirkzee, 1 – Rasmus Hojlund, Manuel Ugarte

Plzeň – Form, Goals Scored & Assists

Karviná 2-1 W, Teplice 1-1 D, Jablonec 3-2 W, Dynamo Kyiv 2-1 W, Hradec Králové 1-0 W, Bohemians 1905 2-0 W

Goals: 10 – Pavel Sulc, 7 – Daniel Vasulin, 6 – Prince Kwabena Adu, 5 – Matej Vydra, 3 – Sampson Dweh, Erik Jirka, 2 – Lukas Cerv, Milan Havel, Lukas Kalvach, Tom Sloncik, 1 – Cadu, Vaclav Jemelka, Jan Kopic, Jan Paluska, Jiri Panos

Assists: 6 – Lukas Kalvach, Pavel Sulc, 5 – Cadu, Daniel Vasulin, 4 – Erik Jirka, 3 – Milan Havel, 2 – Prince Kwabena Adu, Lukas Cerv, Jan Kopic, Jhon Mosquera, Marian Tvrdon, Matej Vydra, 1 – Sampson Dweh, Vaclav Jemelka, Cheick Souaré, Alexandr Sojka

Previous Meetings & Connections

United and Plzeň have never met in European competition, making it the third time in the Europa League this season that United have faced new opposition. United have faced teams from the Czech Republic before having faced Dukla Prague and Sparta Prague previously.

United have played six matches against Czech opposition; four against Dukla Prague – winning one, drawing twice and losing once and two against Sparta Prague; winning once and drawing once. It has been more than 20 years since the last time United placed in the Czech Republic – a country then have never won in.

There are no players who have played for both United and Plzeň in the history of both clubs. However, United have had one player from the Czech Replublic in the history of the club; Karel Poborsky. United signed him from Slavia Prague in July 1996 – he made 48 appearances for the club, scoring six goals and three assists.

Team News

United: United are in good shape despite three players on the sidelines through injury. There are rotation options in the defence once again, which gives Amorim another dimension at the back to change the game. United have a wealth of talent in the squad in all other positions, including an array of youth talent.

Ruled Out: Victor Lindelof (groin/hip/pelvic), Luke Shaw (calf/shin/heel) and Jonny Evans (knock)

Suspended: None

Close to Returning: None

Plzeň: The Czech club have one possible absentee in the Europa League on Thursday, which will be confirmed ahead of the match whether he plays or not. Other than that, the side are in good stead ahead of the first ever clash with United in European competition. United head into the unknown once again.

Ruled Out: Svetozar Markovic (unknown)

Suspended: None

Close to Returning: None

Predicted United Starting XI – 3-4-2-1

Onana;

Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez;

Amad, Casemiro, Mainoo, Malacia;

Fernandes, Garnacho;

Hojlund

Predicted Plzeň Starting XI – 3-4-2-1

Jedlička;

Dweh, Marković, Jemelka;

Havel, Kalvach, Červ, Souaré;

Jirka, Šulc;

Vydra

History, training and the lead up to the big match

United started well under Amorim but it soon went wrong with the club on the back of two defeats in a row in the Premier League. With the matching coming up this month, United will need to find winning ways especially with Manchester City on the horizon. United need another win in the Europa League too.

This is an unknown fixture for United, who have never played Plzeň in a European competition, however, they have faced opposition from the Czech Republic. but United have not won any matches in the country – this will need to be the first time for United. Can Amorim manage to get a victory with this team?

I am sure the manager and his coaching team will have studied Plzeň prior to this match and will work towards putting United in good stead from the start of the match. United’s attacking line should be strong and be up for working hard to get the victory – if only to stop the club from losing three matches in a row.

Viktoria Plzeň 1-3 Manchester United

Written by Paul