Man Utd vs Twente

Manchester United's 2024–25 Europa League campaign gets underway on Wednesday night at Old Trafford when they take on FC Twente, an Eredivisie team.

The two teams have never faced one other before, and the Red Devils have only lost once in their last nine home games against Dutch competition.

Man United is playing in the Europa League for the seventh time since it was renamed in 2009, after finishing in eighth place in the Premier League the previous season and winning the FA Cup final against rival Manchester City in May.

After back-to-back victories over Southampton (3-0) and Barnsley (7-0), the Red Devils have since had a mixed start to the new campaign, winning three, losing three, and drawing one of their seven games across all competitions. On Saturday, they were held to a goalless draw at Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

Erik ten Hag has stated that his United team "ate Palace alive" in the first half of their match at Selhurst Park. However, after five games and three points behind the top four, they were forced to settle for a point because they lacked a decisive edge in the final third. As a result, they are now 11th in the premier league rankings.

The Dutchman is currently getting ready for his Europa League debut against his hometown team, Twente, whom he both grew up cheering for and played for three times between 1989 and 2002. Following their match on Wednesday, Man United will play seven more Europa League matches against Porto, Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce, PAOK, Bodo/Glimt, Viktoria Plzen, Rangers, and FCSB in the newly expanded 36-team league.

The Red Devils, who have only lost one of their previous 24 home Europa League games, will be confident in their chances of winning against Twente on matchday one. They are also one of the bookies' favorites to win the competition this year for the second time in their history, having previously won it in 2016–17.

For the first time in ten years, FC Twente placed third in the Eredivisie rankings the previous season. Since then, they have won their past two games against Heerenveen and Almere City and have amassed 11 points from their first six top-flight games of the new season.

Sem Steijn (2), Sam Lammers, Ricky van Wolfswinkel, and Anass Salah-Eddine scored goals when the Tukkers defeated Almere 5-0 on the road last weekend, following a simple 2-0 success at home over Robin van Persie's Heerenveen.

Twente, now seven points behind league leaders PSV Eindhoven and ranked fourth in the Eredivisie table, has now shifted its focus to their first European campaign since taking part in the 2012–13 Europa League group stage. They lost 5-4 on aggregate to Red Bull Salzburg in the third qualifying round earlier this season, which prevented them from qualifying for the Champions League.

Since taking over as Twente's head coach in July 2023, Joseph Oosting has won 27 of his 48 games in that role. On Wednesday, the team will play in the Theatre of Dreams to try and snap their seven-game losing streak in the Europa League.

The Tukkers have struggled to win against English teams throughout the years; in 13 encounters across all competitions, they have only triumphed once, 1-0 at home against Fulham in the 2011–12 Europa League group stage.