Manchester United will face FC Mydtjylland in the Europa League round of 32 fixture at the MCH Arena in Herning on Thursday.
The Red Devils waited for a year to play in the prestigious UEFA Champions League. When they got the chance, they finished third in the points table in the group stage of the Champions League.
Their loss against Wolfsburg knocked them out of the competition and sent them to play in the secondary tournament to the Champions League.
The 20-time champions waited eagerly to know about their opponent in the round of 32 of the Europa League and the draw said that they will have to take on the Danish Superliga Champions, FC Mydtjylland.
FC Mydtjylland, which was formed in 1999, never face United in a competitive match prior to this. But United should be aware of the fact that Southampton came to MCH Arena in Ausgust 2015. The Saints were handed a defeat by Mydtjylland and they qualified for the main stage of the Europa League.
The hosts, in spite of being their domestic league champions, will not start as favourites. It is Manchester United who should be right on top of this fixture.
United have travelled to Denmark without their captain Wayne Rooney, and that will mean Anthony martial will switch from the left wing to the centre-forward position. Memphis Depay, who has not started for United in recent times, should start against Mydtjylland. Marouane Fellaini and Cameron Brothwick-Jackson also did not fly to Denmark.
Matteo Darmian added himself to the list of injured players, which already have Bastian Schweinsteiger, Marcos Rojo, Ashley Young, Phil Jones and Luke Shaw, after dislocating his shoulder against Sunderland last week. Rooney also picked up a knee injury, which can keep him out of action for at least six weeks. The doctors have not confirmed his expected dates of return.
Manager Louis Van Gaal, who is already under truckloads of pressure, will want to win this first leg of the fixture against Mydtjylland. Away goals are always crucial and United simply will have to score goals in order to keep the pressure at bay before the Danish outfit travels to Old Trafford next week for the second leg of this clash.
If United ends up losing this match, pressure will add to Van Gaal's position at this moment in the club. Reports have already surfaced in social media that Jose Mourinho will replace the Dutchman even before the end of February, irrespective of their result against Arsenal in the last English Premier League fixture of this month.
This is probably the toughest fixture that Mydtjylland has faced in recent times. The kind of form United are in at the moment, the Danish outfit can give them some jitters. But it is highly unlikely that Van Gaal's men will suffer a defeat at the MCH Arena.
FC Mydtjylland will be without the services of Jakob Poulsen, as he has sustained an injury. United should be wary of two talented players -- Martin Pusic and Pione Sisto.
Expected lineups:
FC Midtjylland: Anderson; Novak, Sviatchenko, Hansen, Romer; Royer, Poulsen, Sparv, Olsson, Sisto; Pusic.
Manchester United: De Gea; Love, McNair, Smalling, Blind; Schneiderlin, Herrera; Depay, Mata, Lingard; Martial.
Where to watch live:
The first leg of the Europa League round of 32 fixture between FC Mydtjylland and Manchester United is scheduled for a 7 p.m. local time (11:30 p.m. IST, 6 p.m. GMT and 1 p.m. EST) start. The match will be telecasted live on Ten Action in India. The live streaming option will be available on Tensports Live.
Viewers in the UK can watch the FC Mydtjylland vs Manchester United Europa League match live on BT Sport 2 with live streaming option on Watch BT Sport.
US viewers have the option of catching the FC Mydtjylland vs Manchester United Europa League game live on Fox Sports 2 USA and ESPN 3; the match can also be live streamed online on FoxSoccer2Go and Watch ESPN.
TSN4 will broadcast the Europa league match live in Canada.
Sub-Saharan countries can watch FC Mydtjylland vs Manchester United Europa League clash on beInSports Arabia 11 and 2 HD.
MUTV Online will live stream the match worldwide.
