LASK vs Manchester United 13/03/20

13 March 2020

LASK welcome Manchester United to the Linzer Stadion for the first leg of their UEFA Europa League (EL) round of 16 tie.

It will be LASK’s first-ever clash against the Premier League opponent in UEFA competition, with the Austrian side winning seven of their eight European home matches over the past two seasons (L1), qualifying included. Notably, they’ve won all four of their home fixtures in the EL proper this term, with three of those successes yielding a clean sheet and three producing a margin of at least two goals, too. Particularly dangerous in the late stage of the first half of play, ‘Die Schwarz-Weißen’ have found the net inside the last seven minutes of the first half in three of four EL home games this season. Moreover, Valérien Ismaël’s men have won all four of their home matches in all competitions since the turn of the year, with each yielding a multiple-goal margin.

Meanwhile, the visitors head to Austria in the midst of a purple patch, having won seven of their last ten competitive fixtures (D3), including last weekend’s 2-0 success against cross-town rivals Manchester City. Most importantly, eight of those ten matches saw United keep a clean sheet, which is a notable improvement comparing to the fact that they had failed to shut out their rivals in 13 of 19 competitive games prior. The EL Group L winners won five of eight matches in the competition this term (D2, L1), with each of those successes yielding a clean sheet. Also, the Red Devils have suffered only one defeat in their nine previous EL road trips (W4, D4), although they have scored under 1.5 goals in each of their four travels this season.