MANCHESTER UNITED

League position: 2nd
Head coach: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Europa League top-scorer: Bruno Fernandes (5)

RECENT FORM

Roma: L D L L L
Man Utd: W W W D W

It’s been a pretty tough time for the Giallorossi recently, with six games passing since their last victory - the 1-0 win over Bologna on Serie A’s Matchday 30.

But their Europa League form has been superb all season - as you would expect of a semi-finalist - and Roma are unbeaten at the Olimpico in Europe this term (P6, W4, D2).

As for the visitors, United have gone seven games without a loss in all competitions (W6, D1) and will have been delighted with their comeback in the first leg.

They have, however, had to deal with off-field issues that have rocked the club since the failed Super League launch and saw their derby with Liverpool called-off at the weekend after fan protests led to a pitch invasion prior to kick-off.

DANGER MAN
Bruno Fernandes

The Portuguese midfielder has been revelatory since joining United from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020 and is the club’s top scorer in all competitions this season with 26 goals in 52 appearances.

When you throw in his 16 assists to go with it - and factor his brace of both assists and goals in the first leg - you see just how much of a threat Fernandes poses going forward.

He was integral in the second-half at Old Trafford, running the show alongside Paul Pogba in midfield as United ultimately proved destructive.

If Paulo Fonseca’s side are to deliver the performance of their lives needed to reach the final, they will need to make sure Fernandes is kept as quiet as possible.

MATCH STATS

Roma haven’t lost both games of a two-legged European knockout (excluding qualifiers) since the 2015-16 Champions League tournament against Real Madrid.

The Giallorossi are looking to become only the third team in history to overcome a four-goal first-leg margin in a knockout match of the UEFA Cup or Europa League.

They have, however, lost five of their last six matches against Manchester United, while Roma avoided defeat with a 1-1 draw at the Olimpico in December 2007.

Roma have already scored five times at home in this season’s UEL competition and a repeat of the 5-0 Group A win over Cluj would comfortably book their spot in the showpiece.

Meanwhile, United’s Premier League rivals Arsenal are the only side to have scored more goals (32) than Roma (28) in this year’s competition.

PLAYER STATS

• Edin Dzeko has scored in five of his last six Europa League appearances for Roma.
  
• Borja Mayoral, meanwhile, still sits joint-level at the top of this season's UEL scoring charts with seven strikes.
  
• Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Chris Smalling both picked up Europa League winners’ medals as Manchester United players in 2016-17.
  
• Fernandes has been involved in 30 UEL goals (19 goals, 11 assists) since his 2018 debut in the competition, which is at least seven more than any other player in that time.

WHAT THEY SAID

"It's not finished. In the first half, we made two mistakes and conceded two goals. When we conceded the second, we were a bit all over the place. At half-time, we said, 'Let's do the right things, let's do the simple things.'"

- United midfielder Pogba