For the majority of the season, the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Champions League tournaments have been played alongside domestic league and cup fixtures. Hundreds of teams started the season with dreams of reaching one of the two finals.
Now only four teams remain in both competitions and first up, we have the Europa League Final on Wednesday night in the famous Polish city of Gdansk. Manchester United will face Villarreal from Spain in what promises to be an intriguing match up.
The game also serves as a prelude to Saturday’s Champions League Final, which has been moved from Istanbul to Porto, where Manchester City will clash with fellow Premier League side Chelsea to try and lift the most prestigious trophy in club football.
If you want to enjoy a bet on either of these big games, then bet365 Sport offers a wide range of different betting options on both matches, both pre-match and also In Play when the games get underway.
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Let’s now preview the Europa League Final, which takes place on Wednesday night, kick off at 8pm BST.
Europa League Final
Manchester United v Villarreal
- Venue – Gdansk Stadium, Gdansk, Poland
- Date – Wednesday 26th May
- Kick Off – 8pm BST
- Referee – Clement Turpin (France)
Manchester United Squad
- Goalkeepers – David De Gea, Dean Henderson, Lee Grant, Nathan Bishop.
- Defenders – Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Alex Telles, Axel Tuanzebe, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Brandon Williams
- Midfielders – Amad Diallo, Bruno Fernandes, Fred, Daniel James, Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, Scott McTominay, Paul Pogba, Donny van de Beek
- Attackers – Edinson Cavani, Anthony Elanga, Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford, Shola Shoretire
Villarreal Squad
- Goalkeepers – Sergio Asenjo, Geronimo Rulli, Filip Jorgensen
- Defenders – Mario Gaspar, Raul Albiol, Pau Torres, Ramiro Funes Mori, Juan Foyth, Pervis Estupinan, Alberto Moreno, Ruben Pena, Jaume Costa, Alfonso Pedraza, Andrei Ratiu
- Midfielders – Dani Parejo, Vicente Iborra, Samuel Chukwueze, Manu Tigueros, Francis Coquelin, Moi Gomez, Etienne Capoue, Yeremi Pino, Alex Baena, Ramiro Guerra
- Attackers – Gerard Moreno, Carlos Bacca, Dani Raba, Paco Alcacer, Fer Nino, Alex Millan
How Did The Teams Reach Gdansk?
Manchester United
United started the season in the Champions League, drawn into Group H alongside Paris St
Germain, Red Bull Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir.
Champions League Group Stage
- V Paris St Germain (A) – W 2-1
- V Red Bull Leipzig (H) – W 5-0
- V Istanbul Basaksehir (A) – L 1-2
- V Istanbul Basaksehir (H) – W 4-1
- V Paris St Germain (H) – L 1-3
- V Red Bull Leipzig (A) – L 2-3
Three defeats in their last four games proved costly for United as they missed out on a place in the Round of 16 in the Champions League, but their third-place finish saw them drop into the Europa League at the Round of 32 stage.
Europa League Knockout Stage
- Round of 32 – v Real Sociedad – Away – W 4-0, Home – D 0-0 (4-0 agg)
- Round of 16 – v AC Milan – Home – D 1-1, Away – W 1-0 (2-1 agg)
- Quarterfinal – v Granada – Away – W 2-0, Home – W 2-0 (4-0 agg)
- Semifinal – v AS Roma – Home – W 6-2, Away – L 2-3 (8-5 on agg)
United have won five, drawn two and lost one of their eight knockout phase games since dropping into the Europa League, although their 3-2 loss at Rome was insignificant as United had won the first leg 6-2 at Old Trafford.
Villarreal
Europa League Group Stage
- V Sivasspor (H) – W 5-3
- V Qarabag (A) – W 3-1
- V Maccabi Tel Aviv (H) – W 4-0
- V Maccabi Tel Aviv (A) – D 1-1
- V Sivasspor (A) – W 1-0
- V Qarabag (H) – W 3-0
Villarreal qualified for the Europa League by virtue of their 6th place in La Liga last season and they made easy work of a comfortable group, winning five of their six games and drawing the other to top their group with 16 points. That earned them a place in the Europa League Round of 32 in the New Year.
Europa League Knockout Stage
- Round of 32 – v Red Bull Salzburg – Away – W 2-0, Home – W 2-1 (4-1 agg)
- Round of 16 – v Dynamo Kiev – Away – W 2-0, Home – W 2-0 (4-0 agg)
- Quarterfinal – v Dinamo Zagreb – Away – W 1-0, Home – W 2-1 (3-1 agg)
- Semifinal – v Arsenal – Home – W 2-1, Away – D 0-0 (2-1 on agg)
Unbeaten throughout the group stage, Villarreal continued that superb form in the Knockout Stage, winning seven of their eight games and drawing the other away to Arsenal. They have the best record of any team in the Europa League this season, winning 12 of their 14 games and drawing the other two.
Past History – Manchester United v Villarreal
The teams have met four times previously, all four matches coming in the Group Stage of the Champions League.
The first two games were played in September and November 2005 and both finished in 0-0 draws. The second two matches took place three years later in the same months and once again, both games finished in 0-0 draws.
Villarreal have never contested any cup final in their history previously, either domestically or in Europe, so this will be their first foray into a final.
In contrast, Manchester United have won the Europa League as recently as 2017 and they have been Champions League winners three times as well as winning the now defunct Cup Winners Cup.
Europa League Factfile
- Villarreal have played 17 times against English opponents, winning five times, losing five times and drawing on seven occasions.
- Manchester United have played 56 times against Spanish opponents, winning 15 games, losing 18 and drawing 16.
- In finals against Spanish opponents, Manchester United have won just once out of four finals contested against Spanish teams.
- Spanish and English teams have dominated this competition in recent years. Since 2011, either a Spanish or English team has won this tournament. Sevilla (four wins), Atletico Madrid (two wins), Manchester United and Chelsea (two wins) being the teams to have landed the trophy in the years since.
- Seville are the most successful team in the competition’s history with six wins. They are well ahead of Inter Milan, Liverpool, Juventus and Atletico Madrid who each have three wins apiece.
- Spanish teams have been the most successful in this tournament history winning it on 12 occasions. English teams are joint second with Italian sides having had nine winners each.
Europa League Final Tips
The historical record between these two teams makes it feel like we are due another 0-0, extra time and probably penalties to decide the winner, but given how both have performed in this competition of late, I do feel we will see goals in this game.
For me, this game hinges on whether Harry Maguire is fit enough to play for United. Since his injury, United have looked a shadow of themselves defensively and I think without him, an in form Villarreal will just shade the game. With him, I’d have United as the favourites.
My advice therefore is to hold off on making your bets until the teams are confirmed an hour before the game. For my tips, I am going to assume that Maguire won’t play as that seems to be the consensus of opinion at the moment.
- Match Result – Draw – 12/5
- Correct Score – 1-1 – 11/2
- Anytime Goalscorer – Edinson Cavani (Manchester United) – 13/8
- To Lift Trophy – Villarreal – 2/1
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