Man United handed major boost as key Athletic Bilbao trio are ruled out of Europa League semi-final clash at Old Trafford
Manchester United will take on an Athletic Bilbao side missing three of their key players at Old Trafford on Thursday night.
The Red Devils head into the second leg of their Europa League semi-final with a three-goal advantage after dominating in Bilbao last week.
And their hopes of making the final have received a further boost after Athletic released their squad list for the reverse fixture on Wednesday morning.
Inaki and Nico Williams both failed to make the cut, while Oihan Sancet has also been ruled out of tomorrow’s match.
The Williams brothers have both scored five goals on Athletic’s run to the semi-finals and will be big misses at Old Trafford.
Nico was also a doubt ahead of the first leg, but managed to play 79 minutes before being substituted. However, he has not managed to make himself available for the trip to England.
Nico Williams (left) and his older brother Inaki will not play against Man United on Thursday
Oihan Sancet (pictured) has also been ruled out of the game at Old Trafford
Athletic missing three of their key players is a major boost for Ruben Amorim’s side
Meanwhile, attacking midfielder Sancet has 17 goals in all competitions this season, but missed last week’s first leg and has not recovered in time to feature on Thursday either.
Athletic will also be without defender Dani Vivian after his red card for denying Rasmus Hojlund a clear goalscoring opportunity in the first leg.
United are already huge favourites to reach the final after their 3-0 win in Spain, which saw captain Bruno Fernandes score twice after Casemiro’s opener.
Their chances look to have only increased, with Ernesto Valverde needing to tweak his team after multiple injury setbacks.
