Granada face their hardest Europa League test yet as they welcome Manchester United to Nuevo Los Carmenes in the first leg of their 2020-21 UEFA Europa League Quarter Final.
This matches represents Granada’s toughest test of their European quality as they face Man Utd for the very first time.
Team News
Dimitri Foulquier is amongst six players ruled out for Granada as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
Luis Suarez, Luis Milla (both hamstring), Alberto Soro (knee), Neyder Lozano (skull) and Pepe Sanchez (knock) are also set to miss out.
Man Utd could be without Marcus Rashford after the England international suffered a knock in Sunday’s comeback 2-1 win over Brighton.
Juan Mata could return after recovering from an unspecified injury in recent weeks but Eric Bailly (Coronavirus), Anthony Martial and Phil Jones (both knee) remain absent.
Stat Attack
- This is Granada’s first-ever meeting against Manchester United.
- Granada have never met English opposition before in all competitions, but have lost just one of six home matches in Europa League this season (W4, D1, L1).
- Five of Man Utd’s six Europa League goals this season have come from midfield, with Bruno Fernandes scoring twice whilst Daniel James, Amad Diallo and Paul Pogba scored once each.
- Granada have scored twice in four of their six home games in this season’s Europa League (W4, D1, L1), with Jorge Molina the only player to score twice at home.
- Man Utd have lost three of their last five ‘away’ matches against Spanish opposition (W1, D1, L3).
Prediction
Granada enter this game off the back of consecutive domestic defeats but have been difficult to beat at home in European competition this season with their solid hard-working 4-4-2 formation.
Having thrashed Real Sociedad in their last ‘away’ game against Spanish opposition – albeit on neutral soil, Man Utd will be hoping that they can recreate that magic after a slump in quality performances which was evident in their scrappy comeback win over Brighton on Sunday.
On that note, this could very well be a tough contest but if Utd can bring their higher quality here and play their top game, I think this will be a comfortable result given Granada’s lack of experience at this stage of knockout competitions in Europe.
Prediction: Granada 0-2 Manchester United
Result: Granada 0-2 Manchester United
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