Man Utd v Athletic Bilbao: Prediction, tips and bet builder as Red Devils set sights on Europa League final

The Red Devils produced arguably their best performance of the season when they stormed to a 3-0 victory in the opening leg away in Bilbao.

Ruben Amorim’s men are desperate to win the competition and that was made evident by their display over in Spain.

Having made a complete mess of their domestic campaign, it’s quite incredible to think that United could yet end the season with a continental trophy and Champions League qualification.

But before the Red Devils can open the champagne, they must finish the job against Bilbao in this semi-final.

While progression seems inevitable, let’s not forget that United have conceded four goals in two of their last five matches.

Lyon put four goals past United in the quarter-final of this same competition, while Brentford did the same in the Premier League over the weekend.

Four goals is exactly what Bilbao need to produce one of the great European comebacks, and they will take some encouragement from United’s leaky defence.

United have endured a lot of pain at Old Trafford, losing to the likes of Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Fulham in recent months alone.

Ernesto Valverde’s men will have to join that list if they are to have any hopes of progression. In truth, their hopes of a European final are minimal after that hugly deflating first leg performance.

Here we pick out some of our best tips for this juicy European meeting, and if you put it into a Betway bet builder you’ll get odds of around 22/1

Man United v Athletic Bilbao bet builder

Both teams to score – 3/4

Athletic Bilbao to have most shots on target – 21/10

Bruno Fernandes to score or assist – 10/11

Noussair Mazraoui to make 3+ tackles – 6/5

Good luck and please gamble responsibly.

The big problem for Athletic Bilbao in recent weeks has been their woeful goal output. The Spanish side have scored just one goal in four outings, with that one effort coming against a struggling Las Palmas side.

Despite this, we are backing both teams to find the back of the net. Our primary reason for that is Bilbao’s desperation. The time to sit back has come to an end, with the Spanish outfit needing to throw everything including the kitchen sink at their rivals.

Our secondary reason is United’s leaky defence. The Red Devils have kept just one Old Trafford clean sheet in 15 matches. 

Bilbao’s desperation also leads us into our second bet – the visitors to have the most shots on target. Valverde’s men have nothing to lose and we’re backing them to pose a threat.

Speaking of threat, if United are to get on the scoresheet, you’d like to think that Bruno Fernandes will be involved. The Portuguese star scored a brace in the first leg and had two goal contributions in the quarter-final as well.

Lastly, we’re backing Noussair Mazraoui to make three or more tackle. The United man is fifth in the Premier League for the number of tackles and we’re backing the Moroccan star to continue that trend in the Europa League.

Man Utd v Athletic Bilbao: How to watch and listen

Man Utd v Athletic Bilbao will be shown live on TNT Sports at 20:00 on Thursday, May 8. 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.

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