Manchester United have a rescue job on their hands if they are to progress into the last 16 of the Europa League as they go into their second leg against FC Midtjylland trailing 2-1.
Last week's defeat in Denmark means that United must win at Old Trafford this evening to stand any chance of keeping their Europa League hopes alive.
Man Utd
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It seems that every match comes with extra baggage for Manchester United at the moment due to the ongoing speculation over the future of Louis van Gaal.
It almost feels as though the Dutchman is on trial every time United take to the field, and he can ill-afford any more slip-ups if United are to salvage anything from their campaign from hereon in.
That is certainly true of this evening, with the Europa League arguably providing the Red Devils with their best chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season.
Six points is currently the gap to the top four in the Premier League, and with a crunch match with title-chasing Arsenal on Sunday, they could lose yet more ground on the quartet above them.
The increasing importance of this competition made last week's showing in Denmark all the more disappointing as United slumped to a 2-1 defeat in what was one of the kindest draws that they could have received in the last 32.
They had already come up short in what looked to be a straightforward Champions League group, so to crash out at the hands of the minnows of Midtjylland would make for a truly disastrous European campaign.
Despite their deficit at the halfway stage of the tie, they are still favourites to progress, with only a 1-0 win needed to book their place in the last 16. Even so, that first-leg defeat, coming as it did just a few days after a Premier League loss to Sunderland, has arguably done more damage than can be repaired fully in this second leg.
They did at least return to winning ways on Monday night with a comfortable 3-0 victory over League One side Shrewsbury Town, safely traversing what looked like a potential banana skin to book their place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Tonight will also provide the bonus of a return to Old Trafford after more than three weeks away, and United are unbeaten in their last nine European games in front of their own fans, last losing at home in Sir Alex Ferguson's final European match in charge - a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the 2012-13 Champions League last 16.
However, they have lost both of their previous home matches in the Europa League and are currently on a run of four consecutive defeats in this competition, dating back to their only previous appearance in it in 2011-12.
Recent form: L
Recent form (all competitions): WWDLLW
Midtjylland
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While last week's result may go down as one of the lowest points of Manchester United's torrid season, for Midtjylland it was arguably the greatest moment in the club's short history.
The Danish outfit were only formed in 1999, the year that Man Utd were winning the treble in such dramatic fashion, and 17 years later they find themselves beating one of the world's biggest clubs.
It was the latest high point of what has been a ground-breaking season for Jess Thorup's side. Simply reaching the group stages of the Europa League for the first time was considered to be a big achievement for the club, so to make their debut in the knockout rounds, and then claim the sizeable scalp of Manchester United, is the stuff of dreams.
Despite their lead at the halfway stage of the tie, Thorup is in no doubt that his side remain underdogs, even claiming that it would take a "miracle" for them to dump United out over two legs.
However, that miracle is a lot closer now than many expected it to be, and with United having lost their fear factor, by Van Gaal's own admission, the visitors will arrive in Manchester with realistic ambitions of completing the job.
Last week's victory was all the more surprising considering that Midtjylland had not played a competitive match since their final Europa League group game on December 10, and they weren't exactly in good form before the winter break, winning just one and losing seven of their final 10 matches in 2015.
You have to go back to the start of October for their last away victory in any competition, and they failed to score in their final two Europa League group games, which included a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Napoli.
They are, however, unbeaten on their two previous trips to England and have even won in Manchester before, beating United's local rivals Manchester City 1-0 in the qualifying rounds for the 2008-09 UEFA Cup.
Their other visit to these shores came earlier this season, when they drew 1-1 with Southampton on their way to knocking the Saints out of the competition in qualifying.
Recent form: WLLLDW
Recent form (all competitions): WDLLDW
Team News
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United will once again be without David de Gea for this match, with the Spanish keeper failing to recover from the knee injury he sustained in the warm-up for last week's first leg.
Sergio Romero will continue to deputise, then, and his compatriot Marcos Rojo is also back in the reckoning having recently returned to training.
Antonio Valencia has also stepped up his recovery from a foot injury but will not be available for this match, joining a host of other players on the sidelines for United.
They include Wayne Rooney, Marouane Fellaini, Matteo Darmian, Phil Jones, Luke Shaw, Ashley Young and Bastian Schweinsteiger, who are all injured, while Adnan Januzaj is cup-tied.
There are further doubts over Chris Smalling, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Will Keane too after the trio picked up knocks in the FA Cup win over Shrewsbury on Monday.
Midtjylland could hand a start to Paul Onuachu after the Nigerian came off the bench to score the winning goal in the first leg, sealing a famous victory for his side.
Other than that, though, it could be an unchanged side from the visitors as they look to book an unlikely spot in the last 16.
Man Utd possible starting lineup:
Romero; Love, Smalling, Blind, Borthwick-Jackson; Carrick, Schneiderlin, Lingard, Mata, Depay; Martial
Midtjylland possible starting lineup:
Andersen; Romer, Bodurov, Hansen, Novak; Kadlec, Olsson, Sparv, Hassan, Sisto; Onuachu
Head To Head
Last week's first leg was the first time that these two sides had ever met, meaning that Midtjylland, for now at least, can boast a 100% record over the three-time European champions.
The defeat was only United's second in seven meetings with Danish opposition (W4 D1), but they are unbeaten at home in that time, with two wins from three games.
Midtjylland, meanwhile, have faced Premier League opposition on five occasions and have only lost once, with three victories. As previously mentioned, they are unbeaten in two previous visits to England, including a victory in Manchester.
We say: Man Utd 2-0 Midtjylland
United have certainly not made things easy for themselves, with last week's result not only giving Midtjylland the lead but also belief that they can perhaps pull this off. However, United only need a 1-0 win to progress, so they are still very much favourites and, while their performances haven't been particularly inspiring of late, we expect the hosts to do what they need to do.
Barney Corkhill
