The honeymoon period is well and truly over for new Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim as he aims to bounce back from successive defeats.
The Red Devils tasted defeat at the hands of Arsenal before an embarrassingly error-strewn 3-2 loss to Nottingham Forest on home soil at the weekend, with Czech side Viktoria Plzen up next in the Europa League.
Man Utd have been inconsistent domestically and on the continent this term, although they are unbeaten in the Europa League. Three underwhelming draws have been followed by home victories over Greek outfit PAOK and Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt.
Viktoria Plzen have an almost identical Europa League record to Man Utd this season, also drawing their opening three before securing back-to-back wins. They have conceded seven during the league phase, the same as the Red Devils, but have scored one fewer than Thursday's visitors.
Here is 90min's guide to Man Utd's Europa League affair.
Viktoria Plzen vs Man Utd H2H Results
This is the first competitive fixture between Viktoria Plzen and Man Utd.
Current form (all competitions)
Viktoria Plzen Man Utd
Karvina 1-2 Viktoria Plzen - 08/12/24 Man Utd 2-3 Nottingham Forest - 07/12/24
Viktoria Plzen 1-1 Teplice - 05/12/24 Arsenal 2-0 Man Utd - 04/12/24
Viktoria Plzen 3-2 Jablonec - 01/12/24 Man Utd 4-0 Everton - 01/12/14
Dynamo Kyiv 1-2 Viktoria Plzen - 28/11/24 Man Utd 3-2 Bodo/Glimt - 28/11/24
Hradec Kralove 0-1 Viktoria Plzen - 23/11/24 Ipswich Town 1-1 Man Utd - 24/11/24
Country TV channel/live stream
United Kingdom TNT Sports 2, discovery+, discovery+ App
United States Paramount+, fuboTV, TUDN.com, TUDN App, TUDN USA, ViX
Canada DAZN Canada
Miroslav Koubek
Miroslav Koubek has a number of injuries to contend with / Stuart Franklin/GettyImages
Viktoria Plzen have a number of fitness concerns heading into Thursday's encounter with Man Utd, with Svetozar Markovic the latest casualty after being substituted just 23 minutes into the weekend win over Karvina.
A trio of strikers are all expected to miss out midweek, with Prince Adu, Christophe Kabongo and Rafiu Durosinmi unlikely to feature. Full-back Jan Sykora and defensive midfielder Matej Valenta are also major doubts.
Viktoria Plzen predicted lineup vs Man Utd (3-4-2-1): Jedlicka; Dweh, Hejda, Jemelka; Cadu, Cerv, Kalvach, Souare; Jirka, Sulc; Vydra.
Ruben Amorim
Ruben Amorim is still finding his best XI / Clive Brunskill/GettyImages
Man Utd suffered a bruising defeat at the weekend but the silver lining is they seemingly escaped the loss against Forest without any more injuries. Amorim is likely to make alterations from the side that underperformed on Saturday.
Man Utd are only without three players at present, all of whom are defenders. Victor Lindelof, Jonny Evans and Luke Shaw are all unavailable for the Red Devils, although they could return in the coming matches.
The likes of Joshua Zirkzee, Marcus Rashford and Noussair Mazraoui are among those who could come into the starting XI in Czechia as Man Utd search for redemption.
Man Utd predicted lineup vs Viktoria Plzen (3-4-2-1): Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez; Amad, Ugarte, Mainoo, Dalot; Fernandes, Rashford; Zirkzee.
It remains incredibly difficult to predict what form of Man Utd we will witness ahead of any given match but the Red Devils are undoubtedly favourites heading to Plzen. They are unbeaten in the Europa League despite some underwhelming performances and will be able to rotate on Thursday as injuries ease up.
Amorim's side have failed to convince in recent weeks bar a 4-0 hammering of Everton and could well make life difficult for themselves up against a fellow unbeaten outfit on Thursday. Defensive vulnerabilities have been exposed repeatedly this term but Man Utd should have the attacking quality to secure a much-needed win.
Prediction: Viktoria Plzen 1-2 Man Utd
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