Granada will aim to keep their European dream going when they meet Manchester United at the Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie on Thursday.
Regardless of what happens here, the Nazaries have made the world aware of their presence, producing a stellar debut campaign in a major European competition.
On the other hand, United have no other choice but to pursue European glory after missing out on the Premier League title to cross-city rivals Manchester City.
Granada Preview
Granada’s European journey began with a 4-0 thrashing of Albanian outfit Teuta in the Europa League second qualifying round before clear-cut wins over Locomotive Tbilisi and Malmo in the remaining qualifying fixtures.
The Spaniards finished runners-up to PSV Eindhoven in Group E, with five of their six games in the group stage yielding a full-time margin of under 1.5 goals (W3, D2, L1).
Diego Martinez’s men have defeated Serie A powerhouse Napoli and Norwegian side Molde in the knockout phase, winning the first leg at home 2-0 before losing 2-1 on the road.
Granada have so far proved to be a water-tight defensive unit, having conceded just eight goals in the Europa League this season on an average of 0.61 per match.
Curiously, the Nazaries have netted precisely twice in each of their five victories in the competition proper.
Manchester United
Despite a flying start to their Champions League campaign, United finished third in Group H to drop into the Europa League for the second season running.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men have already overcome Spanish opposition in the competition’s elimination stage this season, ousting Real Sociedad 4-1 on aggregate in the round of 32 (4-1 A, 0-0 H).
But the Red Devils still have a negative record in UEFA two-legged ties versus La Liga clubs (W7, L9), having seen their European runs ended by Spanish adversaries in that last three seasons.
The Premier League heavyweights lament an indifferent away record in the Europa League (W8, D4, L6), albeit they have won their last three trips in the competition without conceding.
United have so far featured in the Europa League quarter-finals twice, ending up on the winning side on each occasion.
Team News
Granada
Out: Neyder Lozano, Luis Suarez, Quini, Luis Milla, Dimitri Foulquier.
Doubts: Alberto Soro, Carlos Neva, Dimitri Foulquier, Pepe Sanchez.
Manchester United
Out: Eric Bailly, Anthony Martial, Juan Mata, Phil Jones.
Doubts: Alex Telles, Marcus Rashford.
Predicted Line-ups
Granada (4-2-3-1): Rui Silva; Victor Diaz, Domingos Duarte, German Sanchez, Jesus Vallejo; Yangel Herrera, Maxime Gonalons; Jorge Molina, Antonio Puertas, Kenedy; Roberto Soldado.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): David De Gea; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw; Fred, Scott McTominay; Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood; Edinson Cavani.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
