Manchester United vs AS Roma Preview

Manchester United will be looking to extend their Europa League campaign beyond this round on Thursday when they play Italian side AS Roma in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final tie.

After crashing out of the Europa League at this stage last season, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be looking to banish the demons of the past as he faces another semi-final test in the form of AS Roma.

However, the mood around Old Trafford is different this time with Man United in a better position than their Italian counterparts.

The Red Devils who are now outright favourites for the Europa League trophy this season entertain their visitors in the midst of a good run of form having won five of their last six matches (D1) and only failing to score once.

They enter clearly the more confident side and will be looking to pick up all three points and extend their impressive record at home against their Italian opponents who are currently in a poor run of form.

The visitors are without a win in four games and have lost two of their last two games away from home. Their last away win was a 2-1 win against Ajax in the previous round that helped them reach this round.

Despite their poor form in the domestic league, they remain the only Italian team left in Europe this season and will be hoping they can put in a decent shift in Europe akin to the one they put in against Ajax in the previous round.

However, they have a poor record in Europe against English sides as they have failed to win on English soil in over 20 years. Their last win came in 2001 while they have lost eight of their last 12 matches against Premier League sides.