Can Manchester United keep up their increasingly important Europa League push with a semi-final win over Celta Vigo, at 8.05pm on BT Sport 3?

Mourinho made good on his promise to prioritise the Europa League as the best route to the Champions League last weekend, fielding a weakened side at Arsenal after United’s chances of a top 4 finish shrank following draws against Man City and Swansea. Of course that decision only served to put more pressure on their Europa League run, United’s 2-0 loss at the Emirates, and Arsenal’s mid-week win over Southampton, putting Old Trafford’s finest back in the familiar confines of 6th place.



Luckily for United, not only do they have a 1-0 lead, and away goal advantage – thanks to Marcus Rashford, who sits at a Super Mega PGM of 33-39 – they are also facing a side that aren’t exactly in the best state to come back from their 1st leg loss. That’s because Celta Vigo have let their Europa League achievements affect their domestic performance in a way that far dwarfs Mourinho’s missteps. They have lost 8 out of their last 11 La Liga games – including the last 4 in a row – and now sit stranded in the bottom half of the table.

However, the Spanish side have managed to score in each of their Europa League away games this season; combine that with United’s less than impressive form at Old Trafford and Celta Vigo still have a chance of reaching the final. It’s a slim chance, mind, with Spreadex offering a Manchester United/Celta Vigo Goal Supremacy spread of 0.95-1.15 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.4-2.6.

Turning to the other semi-final, is there any way Lyon can come back from their 1st leg collapse against Ajax, at 8.05pm on BT Sport 2? They got absolutely hammered in Amsterdam, losing 4-1; however that away goal could be crucial, as Ajax have been just as shoddy on the road as Lyon.



The Dutch side have only won one away game in this season’s competition, and that was their very first fixture against Panathinaikos. After that they drew against Celta Vigo and Standard Liege in the group stages, failed to score in a 0-0 trip to Legia Warsaw, and lost consecutive away legs to Copenhagen and Schalke. Lyon, meanwhile, have impressed at home, their only loss coming in the Champions League against finalists Juventus; since arriving in the Europa League they’ve smashed AZ 7-1, beat Roma 4-2 and managed an admittedly late 2-1 win over Besiktas.

That means, despite a sizeable mountain to climb, this fixture isn’t over yet for the French hosts, with Spreadex offering a Lyon/Ajax Goal Supremacy spread of 0.8-1 alongside a Total Goals spread of 3.5-3.7.