Villarreal meet Manchester United at Stadio Miejski in Gdansk, Poland in the 2020-21 UEFA Europa League Final.
This match represents Villarreal’s first major final in all UEFA competitions (excluding the UEFA Intertoto Cup), having fallen at the semi-final stage on four separate occasions across Champions & Europa League competitions.
Man Utd meanwhile are looking to win this second-tier UEFA competition under its current name for a second time after first winning in 2017.
Team News
Samuel Chukwueze is a doubt for Villarreal as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury suffered during the second leg at Arsenal in their semi-final aggregate victory.
Juan Foyth is also a doubt with his own hamstring injury which he picked up in the first leg of the Yellow Submarine’s semi-final win over his former North-London rivals.
Manchester United could welcome Fred and Scott McTominay back after knocks kept the midfield duo out of Sunday’s Premier League win at Wolves.
Harry Maguire (ankle) and Anthony Martial (knee) are doubts but Phil Jones (knee) remains ruled out.
Stat Attack
- All four previous meetings between Villarreal and Manchester United finished goalless (D4), although this is their first-ever meeting in a major final across all European competitions.
- Villarreal won their only previous match this season to be held at a neutral venue, defeating Qarabag 3-1 in Turkey during the Group Stage.
- Man Utd have also avoided defeat in their only European match this season to be held at a neutral venue, thrashing Real Sociedad 4-0 in Italy in the first leg of their Last 32 tie in February.
- Two goals for Villarreal’s Paco Alcacer would see him clinch this season’s Europa League Golden Boot.
- Utd’s Bruno Fernandes has produced four assists in eight Europa League appearances this season.
Prediction
With this match representing Villarreal’s first major showpiece single final on the European stage, it is difficult to predict what we could expect because I can see nerves potentially playing a part here but if they play like they did at Arsenal then they could well cause serious issues for Man Utd.
Speaking of Utd, this is their first final under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer which is a strong step forward but their performance here will be telling as to how much progress has been made, especially in terms of confidence but the Red Devils have lost their three of their last four ties against Spanish opposition at neutral venues.
The first goal here will therefore be absolutely crucial but all four previous clashes have finished goalless which is a slight worry in terms of omens, whilst Gunnar-Solskjaer did rest a large chunk of his squad on Sunday which could cause issues as they initially settle into the game in terms of consistency.
I however am going for an Utd win because with players like Marcus Rashford, Edinson Cavani and Bruno Fernandes in the squad, I can see them forcing their way through to set themselves up nicely for further improvement next season.
Prediction: Villarreal 0-1 Manchester United
Result: Villarreal 1-1 Manchester United (Villarreal wins 11-10 on penalties!!!)
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