Manchester United are in Galicia on what is expected to be a noisy evening in the Europa League as they face Celta Vigo in the first leg of the semi-final. Mourinho's men will have to be vary of their semi-final opponents, who have a knack for springing surprises when no one expects them to.

 

Celta Vigo have been played down being described an easy opposition by many Man United fans, but it is the exact opposite of what they are presuming Eduardo Berizzo’s men to be. They may be 11th in the La Liga, but have this big-game mentality of shocking the best teams in their country.

 

The men from Galicia have beaten both Real Madrid and Barcelona at least once this season and have been a thorn in the flesh for the duo for quite a few seasons now. Their approach to the game and style of play has seen Berizzo attract attention from the likes of Valencia and Athletic Bilbao.

 

A side that thrives on playing high-tempo, free-flowing football, Celta have a host of fleet-footed players including the resurgent Iago Aspas, who has scored 24 times in all competitions for the Celticos. Berizzo’s men have another player with Premier League experience in former Manchester City striker John Guidetti, who has found the back of the net eight times in all competitions for his side.

 

It’s very likely that Celta play on the break, especially with players like Theo Bongonda, Daniel Wass and Pione Sisto in their ranks. Sisto is familiar with playing against United and played a vital role in handing his former club Midtjylland a win over the Red Devils in the Europa League last season.

 

The men from North-West Spain have lost their previous three league games, but Berizzo’s decision to rest Iago Aspas and a lot of his key players in the 3-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao suggests he could be gunning for a win against the visitors from Old Trafford in their first ever meeting in European competition. 

 

Jose Mourinho have endured an inconsistent campaign. They haven’t lost a single league game since their 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Chelsea in October, but have drawn as many as 14 in all competitions since then. They boast the second best shots of target per game tally- 5.9, but have shown an inability to put chances away. 

 

Goalscoring has been a problem for United, who have scored only 51 times this season. Defensively, the Red Devils have been quite convincing though, and have conceded only three goals less than Tottenham, who have the best defence in the Premier League. Teams have dropped deep to frustrate United and play on the break to catch them on the counter. United’s inability to finish in an efficient manner has cost them many games over the course of this season.

 

Injuries have been a problem this season however, but Jose Mourinho confirmed in the pre-match press-conference that they have Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Eric Bailly and record signing Paul Pogba back fit and are likely to feature in Spain. Luke Shaw is out for the season having sustained a foot ligament injury against Swansea, while the duo of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcos Rojo continue their recoveries from the knee ligament injuries. Another positive for Mourinho will be the return of Marouane Fellaini, who will miss the two league games against Arsenal and Tottenham.

 

Celta don’t have any big injury concerns, but they will have Carles Planas out, as he recovers from a knee injury that he sustained around a week ago. Giuseppe Rossi has already been ruled out for the season due to an ACL injury that he suffered a month ago.

 

 

Celta Vigo: Alvarez; Mallo, Cabral, Fontas, Jonny; Radoja, Hernandez; Wass, Bongonda, Aspas, Guidetti

 

Manchester United: Romero; Valencia, Bailly, Smalling, Darmian; Carrick, Herrera, Pogba, Martial, Mkhitaryan, Rashford