Match preview: Real Betis v United

Tuesday 14 March 2023 07:00

Manchester United travel to Seville later this week as we aim to maintain our Europa League lead against Real Betis and progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.

Goals from Marcus Rashford, Antony, Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghorst secured an excellent 4-1 win over Los Verdiblancos at Old Trafford last Thursday, meaning United are odds-on favourites to go through.

The job is not yet done for Erik ten Hag's side, though, with half the tie still to play against La Liga's fifth-placed team.

Here's everything you need to know ahead of what will be our second sojourn to Seville this season, following December's friendly at the Estadio Benito Villamarin...

90 in 20: United v Real Betis Video

90 in 20: United v Real Betis

90 in 20 | Watch the extended cut of our Europa League first leg with Real Betis…

HOW TO WATCH AND FOLLOW

Thursday’s game kicks off at a slightly earlier time than usual - proceedings will get under way at 17:45 GMT. The match will be broadcast live in the UK on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate.

MUTV will also have exclusive pre-match build-up via our Match Day Live show from 16:40 GMT, followed by live radio commentary and post-match analysis.

Along with that, there will be further content for your matchday on ManUtd.com and in the United App, including in-game data, interviews and more.

Short match highlights will be published at midnight following the game.

TEAM NEWS

Casemiro is available to play, as the suspension he must serve following his sending off against Southampton only applies to domestic games. The Brazilian is, however, just one yellow card away from a European ban, as is Bruno Fernandes.

Alejandro Garnacho was substituted before the end of the clash with the Saints due to an injury Ten Hag 'doesn't think is too bad', while Victor Lindelof missed the game through illness.

Marcel Sabitzer and Anthony Martial were injured, while Christian Eriksen is not expected to be fit again until after the international break.

For Betis, centre-back Luiz Felipe (hamstring) has joined Nabil Fekir (knee) on the sidelines.

Varane highlights United's squad depth

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Rapha believes the Reds have the players to cover for the suspended Casemiro as we seek to regain momentum.

HOW DID THEY GET ON AT THE WEEKEND?

Betis maintained the four-point gap between themselves and sixth-placed Villarreal in the table, by drawing 1-1 with the Yellow Submarine on Sunday.

It could have been better, as top scorer Borja Iglesias, who was only involved as a substitute at Old Trafford, opened the scoring in the first half.

Yeremi Pino replied in the second half for the home side, though, and Los Verdiblancos were unable to make up ground on Real Sociedad in the final Champions League qualification spot.

The Basque outfit, who we've also met during this Europa League campaign, were also held to a 1-1 draw, by Real Mallorca.

Opposition watch: Injury blow for Real Betis

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Find out how our Europa League opponents are shaping up after their latest La Liga game in Spain.

EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES

United hold the biggest lead going into the round-of-16 second legs, but Bayer Leverkusen, Roma and Sevilla will also be confident of progressing, while Juventus have a one-goal advantage over Freiburg. The other three ties are still level:

17:45 GMT kick-offs

Fenerbahce (0) v Sevilla (2)
Feyenoord (1) v Shakhtar Donetsk (1)
Freiburg (0) v Juventus (1)
Real Betis (1) v UNITED (4)

20:00 GMT kick-offs

Arsenal (2) v Sporting (2)
Ferencvaros (0) v Bayer Leverkusen (2)
Real Sociedad (0) v Roma (2)
Union Saint-Gilloise (3) v Union Berlin (3)

How did the other Europa League games go?

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See which teams will join United in taking a lead into the second leg of their last-16 ties.

WHEN'S THE DRAW?

The draw for the quarter-finals of the 2022/23 Europa League will take place in Nyon, Switzerland from 12:00 GMT on Friday 17 March.

UEFA is also set to hold the semi-final draw on Friday, meaning the eight remaining teams will be able to fully map out their potential path to the Budapest final, on Wednesday 31 May.

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