Ruud van Nistelrooy‘s penultimate game in interim charge of Manchester United will take place on Thursday evening when the Red Devils welcome Greek outfit PAOK to Old Trafford for a Europa League clash.
The two teams will meet for the first time in their history and are both still searching for their first victory in this season’s competition.
Over 12 months have now passed since Man United celebrated a victory on the continent; they head into Thursday’s contest having drawn four and lost two of their last six European games.
The Red Devils are currently languishing in 21st place in the 36-team Europa League table after drawing each of their opening three fixtures in the newly-formed league phase under former manager Erik ten Hag, picking up a solitary point against FC Twente, Porto and Fenerbahce, despite leading in all three games.
A disappointing 1-1 home draw with Twente and an eventful 3-3 draw away against Porto were followed by another 1-1 draw in Turkey against Jose Mourinho‘s Fenerbahce a fortnight ago.
Ten Hag has since been sacked and Ruud van Nistelrooy has overseen two matches as interim boss – a 5-2 EFL Cup win over Leicester City and last weekend’s drab 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the Premier League – with the Dutchman to take charge of two more matches this week before Ruben Amorim officially takes the reins on November 11.
The Red Devils will be regarded as firm favourites to claim maximum points, with Van Nistelrooy expected to field a team that is strong enough to get the better of PAOK.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
