Manchester United vs Bodo/Glimt Europa League tips and predictions

Manchester United state of play

Manchester United return to Europa League action following a disappointing 1-1 draw with newly promoted Ipswich in the Premier League on Sunday. It was a not the ideal start to Ruben Amorim’s reign as manager, but the Red Devils are unbeaten in five straight home games, keeping clean sheets in each of their past two.

That included a 2-0 victory over PAOK in their most recent Europa League outing, and they’ve outscored opponents by a combined 13-4 margin during their 4-1-0 run at Old Trafford. However, in the aftermath of Erik ten Hag’s disappointing tenure, United remain three points adrift of the top eight spots in the Europa League, following three-successive draws prior to that win over PAOK.

Bodø/Glimt state of play

Bodø/Glimt arrive at Old Trafford perched atop the Norwegian Eliteserien table with a 17-8-4 record, but have struggled to produce consistent results since the beginning of October.

The club has won just two of eight matches across all competitions. However, they’ve done well so far in Europe and sit just two points behind the top eight in the Europa League table, looking comfortable for a play-off place at least.

The ‘Yellow Horde’ have regularly picked up points on the road, suffering just one defeat in seven overall away matches while keeping clean sheets on four occasions.

Key talking point: Are changes afoot in wake of lacklustre draw with Ipswich?

Thursday’s contest marks just the second match for Manchester United with Ruben Amorim in the dugout. United mustered only four shots on target while settling for a 1-1 draw with relegation-battling Ipswich on Sunday.

Despite an early goal for Marcus Rashford, Amorim ended up grateful for the sensational play of Andre Onana, who proved to be the main reason United didn’t suffer a humiliating defeat. The Red Devils’ lacklustre performance raises questions as to what changes, Amorim will make to a line-up that came across as experimental on Sunday.

FIRST’s top tip for Manchester United vs Bodø/Glimt

Bruno Fernandes anytime goalscorer at 5/1 with Coral

Could Bruno Fernandes be ready to hit form in Thursday’s Europa League clash with Bodø/Glimt?

The Portuguese ace has been quite vocal since the club’s unimpressive draw with Ipswich, publicly calling on his Manchester United team-mates to embrace Amorim’s changes regardless of what form they take. Fernandes claims to have a head start on his team-mates when it comes to adjusting to his new manager because of greater familiarity with Amorim’s approach at Sporting Lisbon.

Considering his recent solid performance, which has produced 21 total shots over his past seven outings and his buy-in to his new manager, Fernandes offers intriguing value as a 5/1 bet at Coral to score sometime on Thursday.

Extra tips

Bet Builder: BTTS no and under 2.5 goals at 5/2 with Matchbook

With both these clubs struggling to find the back of the net with any consistency, Thursday’s match-up has all the makings of a low-scoring affair.

United’s ongoing injury woes combined with the adjustment players must make to a new manager likely means the club will continue to struggle against a Bodø/Glimt squad that has scored just three times in their past three UEL contests and failed to score in two previous meetings with Premier League opponents.

Team news

The injury list remains long for Manchester United. In addition to Harry Maguire’s calf injury, Lisandro Martinez remains sidelined by an injury suffered during the recent international break and is joined in the clinic by defender Leny Yoro, who has reportedly resumed training but is not yet fit to return to action.

The status remains uncertain for their fellow defender Victor Lindelof. He was also injured during the international break and missed last weekend’s fixture with Ipswich with a hamstring injury.

The injuries have opened the door for Amorim to add teenagers Jack Kingdon and Godwill Kukonki to Thursday’s line-up. The likes of Kobbie Mainoo, Luke Shaw and Mason Mount will all be hoping for starts following their respective injury returns.