Following a 3-1 loss to Brighton on Sunday, coach Ruben Amorim boldly admitted that he is leading “arguably the weakest team in Manchester United’s history”. The Portuguese coach is struggling to find ways to motivate his struggling team, having only achieved 11 points in his first 11 Premier League games (W3, D2, L6). However, their performance in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) has been much better, remaining undefeated and in the top eight (W3, D3). Despite their recent struggles at Old Trafford, their home ground, United have a strong record in the UEL, having only lost once as hosts since March 2012 (W20, D6). This could explain why they are considered favourites, and if they live up to this, Amorim will become only the third United manager to win his first three European games in charge. The previous two, Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson, both have roots in Glasgow, where Rangers are currently battling for supremacy with their rivals Celtic.
With a 13-point deficit in the Scottish Premiership, manager Philippe Clement is likely to prioritize the UEL going forward, especially as his team currently holds a top-eight position. Clement has managed to ease some of the pressure on his position with a seven-match unbeaten run in all competitions (W4, D3). However, his team has struggled on the road since early December (D3, L1), and this is unlikely to change against a Rangers side that have only won one of their eight away matches against English teams in Europe (D2, L5), with their last success dating back to 1992/93 against Leeds.
One key battle to watch will be between United’s captain Bruno Fernandes, who could make his 50th UEL appearance here, and Rangers’ centre-back Leon Balogun, who will have to keep him quiet while also being a threat in attack after scoring and assisting in a 15-minute cameo against Aberdeen last week. A noteworthy statistic is that Man Utd have never conceded a goal against Rangers in their four previous meetings (W3, D1).
