Manchester United will be looking to respond to the Liverpool thrashing when they host Real Betis on Thursday.
Thankfully Liverpool have stopped scoring. It was a nightmare for anyone connected to the Red Devils.
But Thursday presents a new chance at redemption in a different competition. Manchester United and Arsenal are expected to challenge for the Europa League trophy, so United will need to eliminate Betis first.
Former Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini is in charge of the visitors, who proved themselves as tough to beat in their last game. They drew 0-0 against Real Madrid.
Pellegrini, at Manchester City between 2013-2016, and later at West Ham, has only suffered defeat three times in 13 clashes with United, and will look to capitalise on their shock defeat and dented confidence.
He has earned five wins and five draws, becoming the first ever coach to defeat four different Man United managers in the Premier League – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal and David Moyes.
United are unbeaten on home soil since September (W17, D2). But ironically their last defeat on their own turf was to Spanish opposition in the form of Real Sociedad in this season’s group stage.
However they impressively knocked out Barcelona to get to this stage.
Red Devils’ midfield stalwart Casemiro has lost just two of his 12 personal meetings with Betis.
The Spanish side will be tough to beat as they’re on a run of being unbeaten in five Europa League matches away from home.
“We have to face them, be humble, play with personality and make it a complicated tie (for them),” said Betis team manager Alexis Trujillo.
“One of the important factors is playing the second game with the support of the fans and knowing what we have to do to eliminate our opponents.
“Betis fans should be happy with the magnitude of the tie. We have to do well at Old Trafford and keep our hopes high in the first leg to see if we can go through in the return.”