Manchester United, as rough a season as they’ve had, are still in very good shape towards possibly winning a trophy.
Ahead of the start of the quarterfinal round, United generally have the second best odds of winning the competition, behind only Athletic Bilbao, and the difference in consumer sentiment between the favorites and United is very small.
Up next is a tie against Lyon, who typically have the fifth or sixth best odds of everyone still remaining in the field, when it comes to outright tournament winner.
Ruben Amorim will look to rescue his debut Manchester United season on Thursday night, travelling for a Europa League quarter-final first-leg tie against Lyon.
The Portuguese’s first few months in Manchester have not gone entirely to plan, as he has struggled to revive the struggling giants. When he took over from interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy, the club was mired in 13th place in the Premier League table, where they remain five months down the line.
While their domestic form has been forgettable, United have cruised through the Europa League under Amorim, finishing third in the league phase and easing past Real Sociedad in the round of 16. Coming off the back of a dour goalless draw in the Manchester derby and a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest, the Europa League will become an increasing priority as Amorim looks to scrape qualification for next year’s Champions League.
Lyon have had a comparatively strong domestic campaign, sitting fifth in Ligue 1 after a dominant Paris Saint-Germain, 22 points clear at the summit, claimed an early title last weekend. Having won all but one of their last seven matches, Lyon will be buoyed as they look to carry on their strong form against a wounded United.
Former Arsenal man Alexandre Lacazette is likely to start up top for the French contingent as he looks to build on his paltry record against United of just one goal in eight appearances. Nemanja Matic, who spent five years at Old Trafford after winning three Premier League titles with Chelsea, is also set to feature for the home side.
Andre Onana; Leny Yoro, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire; Diogo Dalot, Casemiro, Manuel Ugarte, Mason Mount; Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho; Rasmus Hojlund
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