Viktoria Plzen vs Manchester United

There’s no margin for error in the first-ever UEFA Europa League meeting between Viktoria Plzen and Manchester United at the Doosan Arena.

Plzen’s quest to secure automatic knockout qualification is firmly back on track following a gut-wrenching run of three consecutive draws at the beginning of the newly formatted league phase. Indeed, the Czech side squeezed past Dynamo Kyiv 2-1 in the last round, posting a second straight victory in Europe’s second-tier competition while extending their formidable spell of form to just one defeat from their last 16 outings (W10, D5). As if that’s not encouraging enough, Miroslav Koubek’s men have yet to taste defeat on home turf this season (W10, D3), with 70% of those triumph yielding a clean sheet! On top of that, you’d need to go back to October 2016 for Plzen’s last home loss in the Europa League (W13, D1), increasing the likelihood of Koubek’s side upsetting the apple cart.

In the meantime, Manchester United’s last-ditch attempt to salvage an utterly disappointing season with the appointment of Ruben Amorim had been off to a decent start, with the Portuguese manager overseeing three successive unbeaten matches at the start of his tutelage (W2, D1). However, United’s form has since fallen off a cliff, losing back-to-back Premier League games to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest via an aggregate score of 5-2! Moreover, a frustrating defeat at the Emirates capped off United’s longest winless run on the road in the 21st century (D5, L2)! On the bright side, the Red Devils have gone from three consecutive draws at the beginning of this Europa League campaign to two wins in a row, whittling down the gap on eighth-placed Rangers to a single point pre-round.