Manchester City (11/4 Outright) and Manchester United (10/3) will continue their quest for Europa League success on Thursday evening as they look to secure positive results in their respective last-16, first-leg ties against Sporting Lisbon and Athletic Bilbao respectively.
City are up first as they make the trip to Portugal to face Sporting at the Jose Alvalade Stadium with a 6pm kick-off. Roberto Mancini’s men booked their place against Sporting thanks to a 4-0 home win against holders FC Porto in the previous round, although they were trailing 2-1 from the first leg in Portugal which will no doubt give the hosts hope of emulating their league leaders going into this game.
However, City are in strong form having won their last six games, conceding just one goal in the process, so will be optimistic of making life easier for themselves in this round. Mancini is set to hand Sergio Aguero and David Silva starting roles after resting them for Saturday’s 2-0 win against Bolton, while James Milner and Edin Dzeko are set to start having only played minor roles in that game.
Kolo Toure is likely to play at right-back due to injuries to Micah Richards and Pablo Zabaleta, with Nigel de Jong set to replace the suspended Yaya Toure.
Sporting go into the game on the back of their first defeat under new coach Ricardo Sa Pinto, 1-0 away at Vitoria Setubal on Saturday, having won the previous three to occupy fourth spot in the Portuguese league.
However, they have been strong on home soil in Europe, having won every tie played in front of their own fans so far this season, which is a stern warning to City that they should not turn up and be complacent for this test.
Sporting have been hit by the loss of top scorer Ricky van Wolfswinkel due to injury so Matias Fernandez and Andre Carillo will fight it out to feature, with Uruguayan Sebastian Ribas ineligible to play.
The two sides have not faced each other competitively, but with Sporting boasting a formidable record at home and City in a rich run of form, they could well cancel each other out.
Prediction: Draw 90 Minutes @ 5/2
Value Bet: Sporting/Draw HT/Ft @ 12/1
Manchester United get their last-16 clash with Spanish outfit Athletic Bilbao underway at Old Trafford at 8.05pm looking to shake off their uncertain home form of one win in four games in European competition this season.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s men crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage after dropping points on home soil to the likes of Basel and Benfica, while a 2-1 second-leg defeat to Ajax at the Theatre of Dreams almost ended their Europa League bid after they had won the first leg 2-0 in Amsterdam.
However, the Red Devils’ form has been on the up in the Premier League since that defeat, with successive wins at Norwich and Tottenham keeping them within two points of league leaders Manchester City.
And they will be looking to avoid any more problems against Athletic Bilbao as Ferguson will want a comfortable lead to take to Spain for the second leg.
United do have problems on the injury front as Paul Scholes sat out training on Wednesday, while Michael Owen was also absent and Antonio Valencia trained on his own as he continues his recovery from a hamstring strain.
Ferguson blamed a lack of experience for the defeat to Ajax and will want to inject some older heads into the starting XI to ensure they do not have to travel in a week’s time chasing the tie against a Bilbao side with a strong home record in Europe.
Coach Marcelo Bielsa has guided the side to within a point of the fourth and final Champions League qualification spot in La Liga courtesy of a 2-0 Basque derby win over Real Sociedad at the weekend, while they have won three and drawn one of their home games in the Europa League when looking ahead to the second leg.
Midfielder Ander Herrera is adamant that his side are making the trip to Old Trafford to come back as winners, while towering frontman Fernando Llorente (15/2 – First Goalscorer) is a player who could pose a real threat to the United goal if he is not carefully marshalled.
It looks set to be an open tie and with United knowing they could do with a win to take to Spain next week, expect a few goals and the hosts to come out on top.
Prediction: Home Win 90 Minutes @ 1/2
Value Bet: United To Win 3-1 Correct Score @ 9/1
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