Fenerbahce vs Man Utd prediction: Mourinho to come back to haunt United | OneFootball

Manchester United are back in Europa League action on Thursday as they travel to Turkey to take on Fenerbahce looking to get their first European win of the campaign (8pm, TNT Sports 2 & Discovery+).

Waiting to greet them in Istanbul is former United boss Jose Mourinho, who took charge of Fenerbahce in June, and ex-Red Devils midfielders Fred and Sofyan Amrabat, with all three men having a point to prove.

Mourinho would no doubt enjoy getting one over on his old club, although betting sites are siding slightly with the visitors, despite their patchy form.

Erik ten Hag’s men were viewed as one of the favourites to win the Europa League this season by football betting sites but have made heavy weather of the competition so far, needing a last-gasp Harry Maguire equaliser to secure a 3-3 draw away to Porto on matchday two.

They were held at home by FC Twente in their first game of the competition and those results speak to broader issues at Old Trafford, where United recorded their first victory in six games at the weekend with a 2-1 success against Brentford.

The win, secured by goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund, was just their third league win of the season and they currently sit 12th in the table, 10 points behind league leaders Liverpool.

Fenerbahce, on the other hand, sit fourth in the Turkish league with 17 points from their opening eight games, while they are also unbeaten in the Europa League so far, beating Union St Gilloise at home and drawing 1-1 with FC Twente on their travels.

The two sides have met six times in Europe, twice in this competition in the 2016/17 season when the teams enjoyed one win apiece.

United were beaten in Istanbul on that occasion and have only won once at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, David Beckham and Eric Cantona scoring the goals in a 2-0 win 28 years ago.

They’ll need to work hard to get a second win on the board against a Fenerbahce side unbeaten in their last seven home games in the Europa League, winning four of their last five.

This is in stark contrast to United, who have won just one of their last 10 matches in major European competition, drawing four and losing five.

The good news for United is that their former boss Mourinho, who spent two and a half years in charge at Old Trafford, doesn’t have the best of records against his former clubs.

He has actually won just two of his last 17 games against sides he’s previously managed, drawing four and losing 11 - one of those wins though was a 6-1 victory against United with Spurs in October 2020.

Online bookmakers are expecting Mourinho’s last encounter with United to be another high-scoring game, with both teams to score no bigger than 4/7 on betting apps.

Banking on goals is potentially the safest option with both sides tough to trust when it comes to getting a result. Since the start of last season, United have played eight in Europe, won one, scored 16 and conceded 19, and we can’t see them managing a win this time around.

Fener have been a little up and down under the Special One, scoring a good number of goals, 29 in total, but falling to defeat in big games, like the Istanbul derby against Galatasaray and a crunch Champions League qualifier with Lille.

A third consecutive score draw for United in the Europa League may not be out of the question.

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