STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW Wed: Manchester United v FC Twente

Erik ten Hag welcomes his former club FC Twente in their opening Europa League fixture, a trophy that they last won seven years ago but simply must lift this time around, writes LEWIS WILLIAMS.

Scoring 10 goals in two matches against Southampton and Barnsley – vastly inferior opposition – should not be celebrated as if it was meaningful in the grand scheme of the season and there’s still a lot of work to be done to improve from last season’s blunders and inconsistency.

That brace of matches wasn’t the first time Rashford and Antony contributed with goals against such sides, followed by pundits and fans claiming they “needed” those goals to help their confidence after poor form. As if in any way they were “owed” some easy goals to excuse their previous performances. Every time by the way, this back patting goes horribly wrong and it’s back to square one next time.

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Manchester United v FC Twente Enschede
Europa League
Old Trafford
8pm, TNT Sports

LAST FIVE STATS

MANCHESTER UNITED
SEP 2024 PREMIER LEAGUE Crystal Palace 0-0 Man Utd
SEP 2024 EFL CUP Man Utd 7-0 Barnsley
SEP 2024 PREMIER LEAGUE Southampton 0-3 Man Utd
SEP 2024 PREMIER LEAGUE Man Utd 0-3 Liverpool
AUG 2024 PREMIER LEAGUE Brighton 2-1 Man Utd

FC TWENTE
SEP 2024 EREDIVISIE Almere City 0-5 Twente
SEP 2024 EREDIVISIE Twente 2-0 Heerenveen
SEP 2024 EREDIVISIE Twente 1-1 Zwolle
SEP 2024 EREDIVISIE Utrecht 2-1 Twente
AUG 2024 EREDIVISIE Twente 1-1 Sparta Rotterdam

⭐️ STARSPORTS.BET EUROPA LEAGUE OUTRIGHT MARKETS ⭐️

A goalless draw at Selhurst Park was a better result for ten Hag than his previous 4-0 visit to south London, but nonetheless not ideal for a man hunting trophies to drop two points to a club that possessed just two points in four matches at the time.

A double crossbar encounter was matched only by an insane double save by Onana to keep United in the game in one of the most exciting 0-0 finishes you’ll ever see in terms of chances at both ends.

United would come away from that dissatisfied with a mere point, but they must tread carefully because defensive inconsistencies weren’t hard to find and it’s not a big price Twente will score from chances Palace couldn’t.

Twente arrive in Manchester amidst a season of change in the Eredivisie with Ajax and Feyenoord struggling outside the top 4 but they couldn’t be coming here in better form after 2-0 and 5-0 wins and they were arguably unlucky not to claim a point against 3rd placed Utrecht earlier in the season.

With a position in the top two thirds of the league phase being all that’s required and much easier assignments further down the line in the Europa League, I don’t see them going remotely close on Wednesday, but I do expect United to field a somewhat quieter squad, especially with an away trip to Spurs coming in just four days. Therefore, I’m backing Manchester United to win and both teams to score at ? with starsports.bet.

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(SEP 2024): PROFIT/LOSS – 0.34 POINTS