Manchester United vs Sheriff Tiraspol

Manchester United and Sheriff Tiraspol are set to trade tackles at Old Trafford in the penultimate Europa League group stage round.

Since succumbing to a 1-0 home defeat to Group E pacesetters Real Sociedad on day one, Manchester United have gone into overdrive, winning their three subsequent Europa League matches via an aggregate score of 6-2, including a 2-0 win at Sheriff in the reverse fixture. While a point here would seal United’s progression beyond Group E, there’s no doubt the ‘Red Devils’ would want to claim a top-place finish and ensure a more favourable draw. Old Trafford has been a fortress in the Europe League, where Erik ten Hag’s men have lost only one of their last 20 outings in the competition (W15, D4). Moreover, since Sociedad’s victory in England, the Premier League heavyweights have kept three consecutive home clean sheets (W2, D1).

In the meantime, Sheriff Tiraspol could still leapfrog Man Utd in theory, yet it’d require a three-goal margin win at Old Trafford, which looks far-fetched. Since a 3-0 walloping of Omonia Nicosia in their curtain-raising Group E fixture, the perennial Moldovan champions have lost three successive Europa League games without scoring. That certainly doesn’t bode well for their bid to make history this midweek by becoming the first-ever Moldovan side to beat their English counterparts in European football (D1, L4). Yet, Stejepan Tomas’ team can extend their European campaign by switching over to the Europa Conference League knockouts, the prospect that looks inevitable. They are three points clear of basement boys Omonia, with only two games left to play.