Omonia host Manchester United at GSP Stadium, Nicosia, in Group E of 2022-23 UEFA Europa League.
Victory would see Omonia move off the foot of the Group E table, whereas Man Utd can stay second with a win.
Team News
Moreto Cassama is a doubt for Omonia as he continues to recover from an injury he suffered in their defeat against Real Sociedad last month.
Hector Yuste was also injured during that match but is set to be fit enough to feature in the starting line-up, having featured on the bench in their domestic win over Doxa at the weekend.
Man Utd will be without Raphael Varane after the French defender suffered an ankle injury in their 6-3 Premier League defeat against Manchester City on Sunday.
Martin Dubravka (muscle) is a doubt but Donny van de Beek (knock), Harry Maguire (thigh), Brandon Williams (unspecified) and Mason Greenwood (personal) remain absent.
Stat Attack
- This is Omonia’s first-ever meeting against Man Utd in all UEFA competitions.
- Man Utd are playing away to Omonia for the very first time across all competitions.
- Utd are playing Cypriot opposition for the first time in any UEFA competition.
- Omonia have lost all four previous meetings against English opposition in all UEFA competitions (L4).
- Cristiano Ronaldo has scored five goals in four of his last five away European appearances for Utd.
Prediction
Having suffered defeats in their opening two group matches, this is now a must-win if Omonia are to realistically challenge for a knockout spot but they will have to be at the top of their game both defensively and in attack to stand any chance of a win.
Utd meanwhile were defensively shambolic in their defeat at Man City with slow marking and reaction time to quick moves, yet showed improvement in the second-half on the attack to punish City’s loss of defensive focus of which they must now build upon the positives of that half.
Should they do that and apply themselves solidly across 90 minutes, I can see Utd getting a routine win but Omonia surely will look to try and aggressively press the visitors’ defence into defensive blunders, so the first goal will be key but I would be surprised if Utd lost this game.
Prediction: Omonia 1-2 Manchester United
Result: Omonia 2-3 Manchester United
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