Man Utd vs PAOK predictions: Red Devils to secure first Europa League win | OneFootball

Manchester United are back in Europa League action on Thursday looking for their first win of their campaign when they welcome the Greek champions PAOK to Old Trafford (8pm, TNT Sports 1).

Ruud van Nistelrooy remains in interim charge of the Red Devils, while they await the arrival of Ruben Amorim later this month as he finishes his duties with Sporting.

Van Nistelrooy enjoyed a great start last week when he oversaw a 5-2 drubbing of Leicester in the EFL Cup, following the sacking of Erik ten Hag, and he followed it up with a solid 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday.

United are unbeaten in the Europa League so far, but have drawn all three matches, leaving them 21st in the table, although nine places ahead of Thursday’s opponents who have taken just one point from their opening three games.

A 1-1 draw at home against FC Twente set the tone for the competition before an injury-time equaliser from Harry Maguire earned the 10 men of United a 3-3 draw away at Porto after having Bruno Fernandes sent off on 81 minutes.

Their last match was a 1-1 draw at Fenerbahce as former manager Jose Mourinho was sent off, although the Portuguese’s side did damage United’s prospects in the competition by rallying from a one-goal deficit to earn a share of the spoils.

PAOK missed out on qualification for the Champions League, suffering a 6-5 on aggregate defeat at the hands of Malmo.

Their Europa League campaign has not provided much respite, beginning with a 3-1 defeat to Galatasaray in Turkey, before a 1-0 home defeat to Steaua Bucharest.

Razvan Lucescu’s side finally got their first point on the board in the last match. They scored twice in the last six minutes to earn a 2-2 draw at home Viktoria Plzen, who had to play the last 20 minutes with 10 men.

Despite their issues at the start of their campaign, betting sites are still confident that United can mount a charge for the Europa League crown at odds of 7/1 to win the competition. However, their season needs to start sooner rather than later.

Although these two sides have never played each other before, United have won all six of their home games against Greek opposition by an impressive aggregate score of 20-1!

Their current run in Europe of six games without a win, which has seen them draw four and lose two, is their worst run since 1980-1983 but they have never gone seven games.

Despite their poor start to the season, they should have enough in their locker to beat Thursday’s opponents regardless of which United show up.

PAOK don’t travel well, having lost five of their last six away Europa League matches, drawing the other, since a 4-1 win at Belarusian side BATE Borisov in October 2018.

The Greek outfit have been prolific in front of goal this season, with 38 goals in 20 games, only failing to find the net in three games.

United could only wish for such goalscoring prowess. Scoring goals has been tough this term, with 26 goals in 15 games but 12 of those have come in the EFL Cup against League One Barnsley and a much-changed Leicester City side.

Life has not been much better at the other end of the pitch. The Red Devils have struggled to play a settled defence due to injuries and suspensions, which has seen their backline breached in all but five games.

The best odds you can get on a United win are 1/4 with football betting sites, while PAOK are 9/1 to stage the upset.

A fourth draw in a row for United looks plausible, but the Van Nistelrooy impact may just give them the edge in the final third to inflict further Europa League woe on the Greek outfit.

With three goals in his last two games and none in his previous 17 under Ten Hag, Bruno Fernandes seems to be back on song in the final third.

Ten Hag failed to bring out the best in the Portuguese this term, but he has broken off the shackles in the last two matches under Van Nistelrooy and could be the man to spark United in the Europa League by leading from the front.

His last scoring run, from the beginning of March to the end of April, saw him score nine goals in nine games, including braces against Sheffield United and Bournemouth.

Fernandes has managed just one shot on target in this competition, but he is looking a lot more comfortable in his role and will be out to catch the eye of Amorim ahead of his arrival.

Betting apps have odds of 39/20 to score any time, but we like the value for Fernandes to break the deadlock at 13/2.

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