Roma vs Man Utd live on May 6, 2021: Only 90 minutes sit between the Red Devils and the UEL final

May 6, 2021 By Ali M.

Topics: TV Schedules, Roma, Manchester United, UEFA Europa League

Only an embarrassing comeback defeat will stop Solskjaer's men from making the Europa League final. Here's a preview of Thursday's semi-final showdown.

Roma vs Man Utd -- preview

Man United are all but through to the UEFA Europa League final, but the Premier League giants have an additional 90 minutes to go through before they can officially book their ticket to Gdańsk, Poland. Roma are their opponents, with the Red Devils set to make the trip to the Stadio Olimpico for the 2nd leg tie of their semi-final matchup, set to kick off at 3 p.m. ET as per usual.

Solskjaer's men produced an emphatic 6-2 victory over the Italians, but heading into half time in the first leg, Bruno Fernandes and Co. found themselves in real trouble. The Old Trafford side opened the scoring through their Portuguese superstar but the visitors swiftly turned things around, scoring twice to earn a 2-1 lead just before the break.

However, Solskjaer's men put in an electrifying display in the second half, with goals from Cavani (2), Fernandes, Pogba, and Greenwood earning them a huge first-leg lead. Home advantage will not be on their side this time around but none expect Man Utd to lose this fixture given the aggregate score line.

Preparation has not been ideal, with the Red Devils being unable to face Liverpool in the build-up to this second-leg tie. Solskjaer's men were scheduled to face the Merseyside giants last Sunday, but this game was called off after fans broke onto the pitch in the hours leading up to kick-off in protest against the Glazers.

This is not to say that Roma were without their own issues. The Sere A outfit head into this tie on the back of a 2-0 loss to Sampdoria, their third successive defeat across all competitions. In fact, the Giallorossi have failed to win any of their last six fixtures, picking up two draws while losing the remaining four, subsequently dropping out of the race the qualify for Europe.

This atrocious run led to the sacking of Paulo Fonseca, with Roma announcing on Monday that they will be parting ways with their current head coach at the end of this season, with Jose Mourinho set to take over this summer. A comeback win over Man United would be the excellent parting gift, but given that they need a 4-0 victory at the very least to go through, the odds of this occurring are slim.

Team news

Roma: First-choice keeper Pau Lopez is out for the rest of the season while Jordan Veretout and Leonardo Spinazzola are doubts. Amadou Diawara and Carles Perez are expected to miss this tie but both Bruno Peres (injury) and Gianluca Mancini (suspension) are back.

Man Utd: Ole has a near fully-fit squad to choose from, with Phil Jones and Anthony Martial being the only sidelined players. Dean Henderson and Mason Greenwood were left on the bench for United's last league outing, the 0-0 draw vs Leeds, but should return to the lineup.

Key stats

No team in this century has progressed after losing the first leg of a two-legged knockout European fixture by 4+ goals. Only two teams have pulled this off in recorded history and they are FK Partizan v QPR (1984-85) in the last 32 and Real Madrid v Borussia Monchengladbach (1985-86) in the last 16.
Roma have lost five of their last six run-ins with the Red Devils.
Man United are looking to win five consecutive European games for the first time since May 2011.