LASK hosts Manchester United

LASK hosts Manchester United at the Linzer Stadion in a first 1/8-finals game from Europa League this Thursday. Can the Red Devils decide this tie in the first leg? Maybe, but maybe not. Let’s see what’s going on here.

Austrian side LASK reached the 1/8-finals of the competition after two successful games against AZ. The first game in the Netherlands ended with a 1-1 draw, but in the second leg LASK showed their quality and secured a 2-0 win over the Dutch side. The striker Marko Raguz was the hero of the day, scoring both goals for the hosts.

LASK’s manager Valerien Ismael has some problems before this game, though. The defender Philipp Wiesinger got sent off in the second game against AZ, so he won’t be avaliable for this first game against Manchester United. This will hurt the hosts regarding their performance in defense, there’s no doubt about this.

For LASK it’s an amazing season so far. They are not just doing well in Europa League, but they are also ahead of Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga. They can win the title this season.

Manchester United showed some masterclass in the previous round of Europa League. The Red Devils made a 1-1 draw against Club Brugge in Belgium, but in the second leg they showed their teeth and crushed the Belgian side with 5-0 at the Old Trafford. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team have four wins in its last five games and this is telling us that United are entering peak form at the moment. Just few days ago they met Manchester City at the Theatre of Dreams and celebrated a sweet 2-0 win.

Manchester United are the obvious favourite against LASK, but we think they might not win this first match in Austria. LASK are very solid team this season and we are sure they will show it on Thursday. Be careful with this game.