History awaits Villarreal (VIL) when they square off against Manchester United (MUN) in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) title clash. The Spanish side will be playing in their first-ever cup final, and a victory ensures European football next season. Meanwhile, the Red Devils will hope to end a four-year trophyless run and grab their first silverware under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Team news
Villarreal manager Unai Emery, who has won three Europa League titles, will have to make some key decisions ahead of the final. Tottenham loanee Juan Foyth and winger Samuel Chukwueze didn’t feature against Real Madrid on Saturday and might miss out again. There is also a goalkeeper dilemma. Gero Rulli is likely to get the nod ahead of Sergio Asenjo, who made 36 appearances in Spanish La Liga this season.
Manchester United could be without their captain Harry Maguire as he didn’t feature in the final training session. In his absence, either Eric Bailly or Axel Tuanzebe will join Victor Lindelof at the heart of United’s backline. Goalkeeper David De Gea’s stellar performance against AS Roma in the second leg of the semifinal could force Solskjaer to put the Spaniard’s name in the starting eleven.
Previous meeting (in Champions League): VIL 0-0 MUN
Stats & Facts
- All four meetings between Villarreal and Manchester United have ended in a goalless draw
- Villarreal is yet to lose a game in Europa League this season – 11 wins and two draws
- Edinson Cavani has scored four goals in his last two Europa League matches
- Gerard Moreno has registered three assists and two goals in his last four appearances for Villarreal
- Manchester United has kept five clean sheets in eight matches in Europa League this season
Europa League 2020-21 stats
Top Goalscorer: VIL – G Moreno (6 goals); MUN – B Fernandes & E Cavani (5 goals)
Most Assists: VIL – G Moreno & S Chukwueze (5 assists); MUN – B Fernandes (4 assists)
Most Clean Sheets: VIL – G Rulli (6 clean sheets); MUN – D Henderson (3 clean sheets)
Injuries/Suspensions
VIL: S Chukwueze (doubtful), J Foyth (doubtful), V Iborra (injured)
MUN: H Maguire (doubtful), A Martial (injured), P Jones (injured)
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Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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