Manchester United face Ajax Amsterdam at Friends Arena in Stockholm on Wednesday in the UEFA Europa League final. The match is quite important for both teams but not only because of the trophy, the winner would also get a spot in next season's UEFA Champions League group stage. The two teams have met in the Europa League back in 2012, Manchester United grabbed a 2-0 away victory but Ajax fought back and got a 2-1 win at Old Trafford in the second leg of that tie.
Ajax have already qualified for the Champions League but not for the group stage, they finished second behind Feyenoord in the Dutch league so they will have to go through a preliminary round. They ended the league campaign with a 3-1 victory at Willem II last time out, but earlier results have cost them the title. Overall, Ajax won just three of their last six games in all competitions. Nick Viergever is suspended for the final, while Daley Sinkgraven is a fitness doubt and might have to settle for a place on the bench.
Jose Mourinho's Manchester United can salvage a rather disappointing season if they win the Europa League on Wednesday. They finished sixth in the Premier League after winning just one of their last five league matches of the season. It is true that Mourinho switched the focus to the Europa League during the final part of the season, but it was still a very poor run for the Red Devils. Eric Bailly is suspended for the final, while Marcos Rojo, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luke Shaw and Ashley Young are ruled out by injuries. Chris Smalling and Marouane Fellaini also have fitness issues but they could recover in time.
Probable line-ups:
Ajax: Onana - Veltman, Sanchez, Ligt, Dijks - Klaassen, Schone, Ziyech - Traore, Dolberg, Younes
Man United: Romero - Valencia, Jones, Blind, Darmian - Carrick, Herrera, Pogba - Lingard, Rashford, Mkhitaryan
My prediction: 1-1 draw after 90 minutes.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Ajax win - 5.00
Draw - 3.60
Man United win - 1.83
05/27/17, 09:05:56 PM
