Manchester United will play host to Feyenoord Rotterdam at Old Trafford for their scheduled Thursday night Europa League derby.
In September, Jose Mourinho‘s disappointing side lost 1-0 to their counterparts, and are hoping to correct their errors with a win. Anything short of victory will work against their dreams in the competition as there’ll be only one game left after this.
Meanwhile, Feyenoord boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst isn’t fazed by United’s plan to unsettle his squad. He has threatened to mete out another backlash on Jose’s men.
“The Red Devils are not unbeatable,” the former Arsenal player claims, having done it before. And he mockingly adds that United will have an extra motivation to win at home.
According to a report from Sky Sports, Van Bronckhorst spoke at a pre-match conference where he said: “In De Kuip we have seen that it is possible to get a good result against Manchester United.
“Now their approach will be different to then, because United must now win. That makes this a very different game than in Rotterdam.”
There are fears that thousands of Feyenoord fans without tickets will make it to Old Trafford today. And police have taken security measures to put football hooliganism under control.
Hundred of police officers have been stationed around the stadium and near the city center to avoid any uprisings.
A report from The Mirror says ‘there are concerns that as many as 4,500 Feyenoord supporters will travel to Manchester without tickets as well as 3,100 more who do not possess tickets for the crunch Europa League game.’
The Daily Mail also confirms that “in total, we are looking at about 7,500 visiting fans and the worries are over the 4,000 who don’t have tickets. There will be a large police presence in the city centre to monitor them.
“The only operation that comes close in recent years was the FA Cup match against Leeds in 2010 when they brought 9,000.”
Sky Sports reports that Karim El Ahmadi, Terence Kongolo and Eric Botteghin will not be available for Feyenoord against United today due to suspensions and injuries.
Van Bronckhorst however expressed hope that the selected players will live up to expectations.
In his words: “In particular, at centre-back we miss many players, three of the five guys who can play there are not available.
“I’ve played a few times at Old Trafford and know that the atmosphere here is fantastic.
“These are special matches. It’s only the third time that Feyenoord and United play each other in the last 20 years. For my players this game is a way to compete with the very top players.”
Feyenoord goalkeeper Brad Jones, who was also a member of the 2014 Liverpool team which lost 3-0 at Old Trafford, said: “This Manchester United is a different team to the one I played against, but United is a team that always has top players.
“These top players will rise this season and win games for United, so we have to work hard for a good result. “
