Athletic Club handed double injury blow ahead of Europa League semi-final vs Manchester United, name 24-man squad

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Manchester United already have one foot in the Europa League final after thrashing Athletic Club at the San Mames last Thursday.

It was a night that looked likely to be a close-fought contest but ended up being a walk in the park for Manchester United, with three first-half goals killing the tie.

Despite the commanding lead being taken back to Old Trafford this Thursday for the second leg, Casemiro has warned against losing focus and allowing a comeback to happen.

However, Ruben Amorim will be quietly confident that his side can see out the 3-0 aggregate lead without too many problems, considering the La Liga side offered very little at home.

By beating Athletic Club on aggregate, United will set up a final date against Tottenham or Bodo/Glimt, back in Bilbao in a fortnight.

Now, the visitors on Thursday night have suffered a double injury blow that might kill their hopes of fashioning a comeback against United.

• READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Man Utd’s head coach – Ruben Amorim

Athletic Club squad has three major absentees for Europa League semi-final against Manchester United

On Wednesday, ahead of travelling to Manchester, Athletic Club have named their squad for the game, with 24 players included.

Athletic Club matchday squad

Unai Simon, Agirrezabala, Santos, Gorosabel, Paredes, Yeray, Vesga, Berenguer, A. Djalo, Guruzeta, Nunez, I. Lekue, Ruiz de Galarreta, Yuri, De Marcos, Unai G., Maroan, Jauregizar, Prados, Canales, Adama, Olabarrieta, Rego and Varela.

Within this 24-man list, there are notable absentees in the form of both Williams brothers, who are two of Bilbao’s three main men, along with already injured Oihan Sancet.

Nico Williams and Inaki Williams were both absent from training earlier this week for Bilbao. These two injury blows are in addition to Athletic Club’s top scorer, Sancet, who missed the first leg and will also miss the second leg, being excluded from the squad.

These are Bilbao’s three-star players, and this will come as an almighty blow for Ernesto Valverde’s chances. After the first leg, Inaki Williams warned United of a comeback, but now Bilbao will need to do it all without him and his brother.

Manchester United facing a severely weakened Athletic Club

Last week was a surprisingly easy outing against one of Spain’s best teams, which had many fans worried that the second leg would see them respond in style.

Before the first leg, United were warned about Nico and Inaki Williams, yet never really had to contend with them as neither really impacted the first leg at the final venue in Bilbao.

To stage a comeback, Bilbao will need at least three goals, assuming United don’t score, which is unlikely considering how easily goals have come in the Europa League recently.

Athletic Club top scorers

1. Sancet – 17 goals
2. I. Williams – 11 goals
3. N. Williams – 11 goals

Bilbao will be without their three top scorers, which shows how much of a chance for a comfortable night United have on Thursday.

A spot in the final now looks more likely than ever for United, Amorim just needs his team to kill the tie early on and give Bilbao no hope of making a game of it.