Fenerbahce vs Manchester United

One of the most highly anticipated fixtures in the UEFA Europa League round three pits Fenerbahce and Manchester United against each other at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.

Fenerbahce could only get a 1-1 draw on their last Europa League road trip to Twente, failing to build on a dramatic 2-1 home triumph against Royale Union SG in round one. Manager Jose Mourinho, who inspired Manchester United to the Europa League title in 2017, has amends to make after a 2-2 draw against Samsunspor at the weekend left his underperforming Fenerbahce side eight points adrift of Turkish Super Lig pacesetters Galatasaray. However, that could be a Herculean task, not least because Mourinho has won just two of his last 17 games against clubs he has previously coached (D4, L11). Confidence stems from Fenerbahce’s outstanding run of nine consecutive unbeaten Europa League outings on this stadium (W6, D3).

Meanwhile, amid intense pressure on Erik ten Hag, Manchester United pulled off a vital second-half comeback to beat Brentford 2-1 at home last weekend and arrest a five-match winning streak in all competitions. Despite starting this Europa League campaign as the leading favorites to win the prize, the Red Devils have experienced a stuttering start, posting back-to-back scoring draws against Porto (3-3) and Twente (1-1). While anything other than ending a two-game losing away run against Fenerbahce with a win would only mount more pressure on Ten Hag, Man Utd’s woeful record of just one victory across their last ten European travels (D4, L5) cannot inspire much confidence.