There is a feast of storytelling on Thursday night when Fenerbahce take on Manchester United in the Europa League on Matchday 3 of the league stage.
The clash pits current Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho against his former club after unceremoniously leaving Old Trafford in 2018. Mourinho has since held jobs at Tottenham Hotspur and Roma, winning silverware with the latter in Conference League form.
The Portuguese icon was appointed by Fenerbahce in the summer after they narrowly missed out on the Superliga title last season, but his side are already eight points behind league leaders and arch-rivals Galatasaray in eight games
Erik ten Hag takes on the coach who was once “special”. very first time on Thursday, aiming to continue the promise shown during the second half against Brentford on Saturday. United’s form has remained flat since being hammered 3-0 at home to Tottenham, and the Dutchman required a considerable boost in form to ease the pressure on his shoulders.
Winless United head into this game 21st in the league stage table, while the hosts are 13th with four points after beating Union Saint-Gilloise on matchday one.
here it is 90 minutes preview of an intriguing Europa League shock
Fenerbahce vs Man Utd H2H Record (all matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Fenerbahçe |
Man Utd |
|---|---|
|
Samsunspor 2-2 Fenerbahce – 20/10/24 |
Man Utd 2-1 Brentford – 19/10/24 |
|
Twente 1-1 Fenerbahce – 03/10/24 |
Aston Villa 0-0 Man Utd – 06/10/24 |
|
Antalyaspor 0-2 Fenerbahce – 29/09/24 |
Porto 3-3 Man Utd – 03/10/24 |
|
Fenerbahce 2-1 Union Saint-Gilloise – 26/09/24 |
Man Utd 0-3 Tottenham – 29/09/24 |
|
Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray – 21/09/24 |
Man Utd 1-1 Twente – 25/09/25 |
|
country |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
united kingdom |
Discovery+, discovery+ app, TNT Sports 2 |
|
united states |
Paramount+, fuboTV, TUDN.com Univision NOW, TUDN App, ViX, TUDN USA, UniMas |
|
canada |
DAZN |
Mourinho was dealt a huge blow at the weekend as starting left-back Jayden Oosterwolde tore his ACL and is likely to miss the rest of the season. Former United midfielder Fred could be used in Oosterwolde’s absence, but Turkey international Murt Muldur is also an option.
Sofyan Amrabat is another familiar face set to start for the home side, with Mourinho also counting on former Premier League stars Allan Saint-Maximin and Edin Dzeko in his ranks.
Cengiz Under, Ismail Yuksek, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Irfan Can Egribayat are injured. Filip Kostic has not been included in the Europa League call-up.
Fenerbahce predicted line-up against Man Utd (4-2-3-1): Livakovic; Djiku, Soyuncu, Becao, Muldur; Administrator, Fred; Tadic, Szymanski, Saint-Maximin; En-Nesyri.
The visitors are without the suspended Bruno Fernandes after he picked up a pair of yellow cards in Man Utd’s 3-3 draw with Porto last time out.
Ten Hag cannot summon the injured Mason Mount to replace the Portuguese international, while Kobbie Mainoo also has a muscle injury. United’s savior in Porto, Harry Maguire, is also injured long-term absentee Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw.
Leny Yoro is back in training after breaking his foot in pre-season, but the young defender will not return on Thursday night. However, there could be a reminder of Noussair Mazraoui’s starting eleven.
Man Utd predicted line-up against Fenerbahce (4-2-3-1): Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Dalot; Ugarte, Casemiro; Rashford, Eriksen, Grenache; Hojlund
After a dreadful first half, United showed signs of life against Brentford and should secure a big European win away from home if they can replicate their second-half display on Saturday in Thursday’s clash.
Mourinho has a pretty good squad at his disposal but his team are struggling to find any sort of rhythm. However, he will be desperate to get a win over United here.
Given the unpredictability of the visiting team and Mourinho’s desperation, Fenerbahce can grab a point to extend United’s winless start to the league stage.
