Manchester United vs FC Twente Prediction

It’s the opening day of the UEFA Europa League and this particular match has the 2016/17 season winners of the competition in Manchester United invite Dutch side FC Twente to Old Trafford in what is sure to be an exciting match to kick off the campaign.

Key Stats

• Manchester United have scored 11 goals in their last 5 matches
• FC Twente have scored 10 goals in their last 5 matches
• Manchester United have won this competition once and also come runners-up once as well
• United’s Alejandro Garnacho has 7 goal contributions across all competitions so far this season

Team Previews, Form and Standout Players

Back when Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was in his playing days, he featured in 299 Eredivisie matches. 257 of those games were in a Twente shirt. The roles are reversed now as he has to play against them, this time from the dugout. It is the very first time that United and Twente have faced off against each other so things could get interesting. United have been a massive up and down club with performances ranging from abysmal to producing quality displays.

Playing a huge role in those excellent displays is young winner and revelation Alejandro Garnacho. The 20 year old has contributed towards seven goal involvements, four goals and three assists. He will definitely be one for the future but also is performing extraordinarily now. He could definitely torment the Twente defenders in this match if he is on form.

Manchester United Preview

Predicted Line-Up: Onana; Mazraoui, Martinez, De Ligt, Dalot; Ugarte, Mainoo; Amad, Fernandes, Garnacho, Zirkzee

Manchester United have been hit and miss under Erik ten Hag and this season has started off no different. United had the opportunity to be the very first game back to kickstart the 2024/25 Premier League season. A 1-0 home win against Fulham thanks to new signing Joshua Zirkzee ensured that all three points would go their way, resulting in them being temporarily top of the table as no one else had played yet. The highs of that win soon faded as The Red Devils suffered back to back defeats, conceding a 90+5 winner to Brighton’s João Pedro and then a thrashing from hated rivals Liverpool, who put three goals past them without reply.

The following week had United back with a win, going to newly promoted side Southampton and winning 0-3. Saturday’s late afternoon fixture against Crystal Palace had both teams sharing a point each as neither could break the deadlock, a goalless draw after 90 minutes.

Outside of the Premier League and into the Carabao Cup, Manchester United tore through League One side Barnsley in a Round 3 match last Tuesday. 7-0 the final score with stand out performances from several United players. Picking up two goals and two assists, Garnacho delivered for United again but he wasn’t the only one. Christian Eriksen registered two goals and an assist, Bruno Fernandes provided two assists after come onto the pitch in the second half. Furthermore, Marcus Rashford and Antony both bagged themselves braces. All of these players are in contention to start and cause Twente a lot of problems.

FC Twente Preview

Predicted Line-Up: Unnerstall; van Rooij, Hilgers, Bruns, Salah-Eddine; Regeer, Eiting; Rots, Stejin, van Bergen; Lammers

FC Twente have really transformed ever since their promotion to the Eredivisie back in 2018/19 season. They made their way back to the topflight of Dutch football after a year’s stint in the Eerste Divisie, by being crowned champions. Following that they have achieved consecutive finishes of 14th, 10th, 4th, 5th, 3rd and now after six games they currently sit in fourth spot.

They started their season with a 1-2 win on the road against NEC Nijmegen before drawing 1-1 with Sparta Rotterdam the next week. FC Utrecht then got the better of them in a 2-1 defeat for Twente, but they bounced back with another draw and then two wins after that. Their most recent match, a dominating performance away from home in a 0-5 drubbing of Almere City. Twente could have found themselves in the UEFA Champions League this season after that third place finish but were not able to make it past RB Salzburg in Round 3 of the qualification process.

If United have Garnacho, then The Tukkers have Sem Stejin. He has recorded eight goal contributions this season, one more than the Argentine. He will be the one person that posses a threat to Onana and his aims of keeping a clean sheet in this match.

Betting Tips For Manchester United vs FC Twente

With Manchester United and FC Twente having never have played each other, this match could depend massively on each side’s form heading into this match. Both have been fairly average to start the season but United have the experience of playing in the elite European competitions for years, giving them an advantage on how to handle the pressure.

FC Twente can score goals no matter the opposition or occasion as they have scored in all of their games in the Eredivisie so far.

For that reason, our betting experts have gone with Manchester United To Win + Both Teams To Score as out best value tip for this game.

Odds of 17/10 mean that a £10 bet has the potential to return up to £27 in this match.

(odds subject to change)

Final Prediction: Manchester United vs FC Twente

Manchester United 3-2 FC Twente

United are obvious favourites, but they have not been clinical enough. They will need to dig deep given that Twente will be a tougher team than people might imagine. We can see them conceding early and then working their way to a win and also maybe conceding a consolation late into the second half.