Athletic Bilbao v Man United: Prediction, tips and bet builder as Red Devils face stern Spanish test

The pressure is on. Winning the Europa League would secure a much-needed trophy for Ruben Amorim, as well as Champions League qualification for next season. Failure, however, will leave the Red Devils in an almighty mess.

Amorim's men have endured a truly dreadful Premier League campaign, one which keeps on getting worse.

Take their previous five league results as an example. Defeat to Nottingham Forest, goalless draw with Man City, a 4-1 thrashing in Newcastle, a home loss to Wolves and, most recently, a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth.

Amorim is rightfully under pressure and that will only get worse should he fail to mastermind a winning strategy against Athletic Bilbao.

Trouble is, the Spaniards will be horribly difficult to break down. Ernesto Valverde’s men are currently fourth in La Liga and have suffered the joint-fewest defeats, alongside Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

No team in the Spanish top tier have conceded fewer goals than Valverde’s side, while no team in the Europa League has managed to avoid defeat away in Bilbao.

The task ahead of United appears gargantuan, especially when you remember United’s poor record away from home.

Amorim’s men have won just one of their previous eight matches on the road, with that sole success coming at the King Power Stadium against Leicester – not much of an achievement this season.

There is, of course, one big positive – United are unbeaten in Europe. For all their domestic troubles this season, the Red Devils have actually excelled when it comes to continental football.

United will be determined to continue that run when they travel to Bilbao this Thursday night.

Here we pick out some of our best tips for this juicy Wednesday meeting, and if you put it into a Betway bet builder you’ll get odds of around 15/1.

Athletic Bilbao v Man United bet builder

Draw – 12/5

Both teams to score – 10/11

Bilbao 3+ shots on target – 1/7

Harry Maguire 1+ shots – 21/20

Good luck and please gamble responsibly.

There is no way you can win a tie in the first leg, but you can certainly lose it. Man United will be looking to take an advantageous result back to Old Trafford, but if they are to lose, the next best option is to limit the damage.

Considering the Red Devils have put all their eggs in the Europa League basket, we expect a strong display from the visitors. Far stronger than their recent Premier League outings.

On the other hand, Athletic Bilbao are capable of giving United the toughest test they’ve had all season long.

Bilbao have kept six clean sheets in Europe this season, including two of them in the previous round against Rangers.

With all that in mind, we’re backing a close game and the draw at around the 12/5 mark.

While Bilbao are good at keeping teams out, doing the same against United won’t be easy. The Red Devils have scored 11 goals across their last three Europa League matches. In that case, we’re adding BTTS to our acca.

We’re also putting our chips on Bilbao to have 3+ shots on target. With a home crowd behind them and a weakened United in front of them, the hosts will have nothing to fear and are likely to go on the front foot.

Lastly, we’re sticking a Harry Maguire +1 shots bet to round things off. The England international loves to come up the field, especially for set pieces. He posses a danger up front and we’re backing the defender to trouble Bilbao at some point.

Athletic Bilbao v Man United: How to watch and listen

Athletic Bilbao v Man United will be shown live on TNT Sports at 20:00 on Thursday, May 1. There will be live match updates on BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT.

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How do we create our tips?

Planet Sport has a rich history of providing quality, engaging and creative user-friendly content across a wide range of sports.

The Planet Sport team has more than twenty years’ experience working in the sports industry and use their knowledge, experience and statistical analysis to bring you the very best tips possible.

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