Manchester United’s season will be over should they fail to beat Lyon in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final, live on talkSPORT.
The Red Devils only have one shot at silverware and Champions League qualification left, and they have to win this game to keep their hopes alive.
Ruben Amorim’s side were seconds away from a huge away victory in the first leg against their French opponents last week, but Rayan Cherki struck late.
It was Andre Onana’s error, his second of the tie, that allowed Cherki to score and that has set up an incredibly tense affair at Old Trafford.
The campaign is on the line for United, so there’s no room for any more mistakes…
Man United vs Lyon: Oh-nana
But in juxtaposition to that last sentence, Onana will be returning.
Amorim dropped the Cameroonian goalkeeper after he made two mistakes during the first leg, costing the Red Devils a crucial win.
The United boss said he left Onana out of his squad against Newcastle over the weekend to let him ‘disconnect’ after a tough outing.
His errors in Lyon took him up to eight in all competitions since his arrival at the club, and that is more than any other Premier League goalkeeper.
But he’s going to be trusted between the sticks again for the second leg, with Amorim saying: “I think as a former coach and a player, I try to do things that can help a player in this situation.
“We talk about managing players physically, but we also have to manage them mentally. This week, my thinking was to put Onana to play.”
He added: “When I made that decision in the last week, I talked with Andre and that is important for me to explain what I am thinking. I think Andre deserves to return to the competition.”
- This will be the third time that Manchester United have faced Lyon in European competition at Old Trafford, with the Red Devils winning both prior meetings (2-1 in November 2004 & 1-0 in March 2008).
- Lyon have lost just one of their last nine European games against sides from England (W4 D4), a 3-0 defeat to West Ham during the 2021-22 UEFA Europa League.
- Manchester United have lost each of their last two home European games against sides from France (2-0 & 3-1 vs PSG in February 2019 and December 2020), after remaining unbeaten across their prior 14 matches between 1965 and 2017 (W10 D4).
Man United vs Lyon: Team news
United will be without Joshua Zirkzee for the rest of the season after he picked up a hamstring injury during their defeat to Newcastle.
It means Rasmus Hojlund will be leading the line in this huge clash.
As mentioned, Onana is going to return in goal for United after being dropped following his performance in the first leg of this tie.
Jonny Evans is back in training, but Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martinez, Amad Diallo and Toby Collyer remained sidelined through injury.
For Lyon, former Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette may be handed a start after coming off the bench last week.
Ex-United midfielder Nemanja Matic could feature on his return to Old Trafford.
- Lyon are unbeaten across their last 12 away UEFA Europa League games (W9 D3), since a 1-0 defeat to Atalanta in December 2017.
- Manchester United remain unbeaten across their 11 UEFA Europa League games this season (W6 D5). The last time the Red Devils began a European campaign unbeaten across their opening 11 matches they eventually went on to lose 3-1 in the 2010-11 UEFA Champions League final against Barcelona.
- Across major European competition when drawing the first leg of a knockout clash on home soil, Lyon have failed to progress from all nine of their prior ties between 1964 and 2019.
Man United vs Lyon: What has been said?
Harry Maguire has been speaking about just how important it is for United to win the Europa League this season.
He said: “Obviously it has been a disappointing season, there is no doubt about it. From the start of the season, we have been far too inconsistent.
“I think performances have picked up late. A lot of games have been 50-50 and we have ended up on the bad end of the result.
“Tomorrow night is a big game for us and it is one I am looking forward to it.”
He added: “Winning a trophy would be massive and it gives us access to the Champions League for next season.
“This is the only competition that we are left in and tomorrow night, we are looking forward to it.”
- Since the start of last season, Rasmus Højlund has recorded 12 goal contributions for Manchester United across European competition (10 goals, 2 assists). Amongst Premier League players to have recorded 10 or more in that time, only Mohamed Salah (80) and Bukayo Saka (88) have a better minutes per goal contribution ratio than the Danish international (96).
- After netting Lyon’s equaliser in the first leg, Rayan Cherki has now recorded 11 goals contributions across his 11 UEFA Europa League games this season (3 goals, 8 assists). That’s the highest tally in the competition this season, whilst no player has ever recorded more assists in a single UEFL campaign (also Diego in 2011-12).
Man United vs Lyon: talkSPORT coverage
This Europa League quarter-final second leg takes place on Thursday, April 17.
Kick-off at Old Trafford is scheduled for 8pm.
talkSPORT will have live coverage of the game presented by Hugh Woozencroft.
Commentary will come from Alex Crook and former England Women’s striker Lianne Sanderson.
To tune in to talkSPORT through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
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