Manchester United shift their focus to the Europa League this week as they travel to France to take on Lyon.
Ruben Amorim will hope Manchester United can remain unbeaten in the Europa League when they take on Lyon in the quarter-finals. The first leg takes place on Thursday night at the Groupama Stadium – two weeks before Old Trafford hosts the second leg.
United’s impressive record in the Europa League is the only thing the Reds can boast about this term, as a turbulent campaign sees the Reds sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Thursday night’s opponents finished sixth in the league phase, three points behind United after winning four of their eight games, drawing on three occasions and losing once.
Both teams eased through their round of 16 ties as Lyon beat FCSB 7-1 over two legs, while United beat Real Sociedad 5-2 on aggregate.
Amorim will be trying to salvage United’s season by going all the way in the Europa League. It’s the only way for the team to qualify for the Champions League.
Lyon winger Ernest Nuamah suffers ACL injury
Lyon are set to be without Ernest Nuamah for a long period after the winger ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament.
The Ligue 1 club confirmed on Monday that Nuamah suffered the injury during Saturday’s win over Lille, when the 21-year-old was forced off after seven minutes.
Nuamah’s injury occurred just four days before Lyon take on United in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.
The Ghana international has been a regular in Paulo Fonseca’s side this season, scoring six goals and registering two assists in 33 matches across all competitions. The 21-year-old also scored a brace in their Europa League win over FCSB.
Although Nuamah is unfortunate to see his season end prematurely, Lyon have other players in attack capable of hurting United, including Rayan Cherki.
Lyon are also without Malick Fofana after he sustained a knee injury while on international duty, but the Belgian could return before the second leg.
Ruben Amorim waits on six Man Utd players to return
United were handed an injury boost last week ahead of the Manchester derby, with Kobbie Mainoo stepping up his recovery. Amroim is likely to slowly ease the midfielder back in action after he spent several months sidelined.
That’s why Mainoo did not return for United’s scoreless draw against Manchester City. The England international will be hoping to get some minutes on the pitch against Lyon.
Matthijs de Ligt is a doubt after missing the derby last weekend due to a knock sustained in United’s 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest. United are also set to be without Ayden Heaven, Amad Diallo, Lisandro Martinez and Jonny Evans.
There’s no chance for Martinez to return before the end of the season, but United fans hope to see Amad in action again, though the trip to Lyon comes too soon for the Ivorian attacker.
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