Celta Vigo and Manchester United will begin their battle for a place in the final of the UEFA Europa League when they meet at Estadio de Balaidos on Thursday evening.The Spanish hosts have overcome the likes of Shakhtar Donetsk, Krasnodar and Genk to reach the penultimate stage of the competition. Given La Liga teams’ dominance of the Europa League in the past decade and a half (eight of the last 13 titles have been won by Spanish sides), Celta should not be underestimated despite being placed only 11th in their domestic championship. Eduardo Berizzo’s team come into the game on the back of three straight defeats in La Liga, but they are unbeaten in their last five European matches. This will be their first appearance in a UEFA club semifinal.Man United have also wobbled in their form of late - they are unbeaten in their last 11 matches across all competitions, but their last two results have been disappointing draws, particularly a 1-1 result at home to struggling Swansea this past weekend. United have been hit by an injury crisis, especially in defence where they could be without a single established centre-back. There may be some good news for United as news yesterday that Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Eric Bailly all trained with the squad and could be available for selection, a welcome boost for Jose Mourinho.
This will be the first meeting of Celta and United in European competition. The Spaniards have faced English opposition nine times and their record is five wins and four losses. United have a record of P47 W12 D19 L16 against Spanish teams, though they have won two of their three previous European semifinals against opponents from the Iberian country and gone on to lift the trophy on both occasions.
Form guide (last five results, most recent first, all competitions)
Celta - LLLDW
United - DDWWW