Villarreal will attempt to make history with its first-ever major trophy in Wednesday’s Europa League final against 2017 winner Manchester United.
The Yellow Submarine has the right man for the job in Unai Emery—no coach has won more UEFA Cup/Europa League titles than the former Sevilla manager’s three, but a fourth will break Emery’s tie with Giovanni Trapattoni. Emery currently has Villarreal on a 14-match unbeaten streak in Europa League this season, leading the side past his former club in Arsenal on a 2-1 aggregate in the semifinal.
Fresh off a second-place finish in the Premier League, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have his eyes set on the first trophy of his managerial tenure at Old Trafford. However, he may have to do without captain Harry Maguire, who traveled with the squad to Gdańsk but is a major injury doubt.
How to Watch:
Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV Channel: CBS Sports Network, TUDN USA, UniMás
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After dropping down from Champions League for its third-place group finish, United has already dispatched two Spanish sides in Real Sociedad and Granada before a thrilling semifinal with AS Roma that ended 8-5 on aggregate.
Bruno Fernandes leads the Red Devils with five goals and four assists in eight Europa League games this year, while Edinson Cavani enters on a hot streak having scored all four of his Europa League goals in the semis against Roma.
The two sides have met four times before in Champions League with all four matches ending in scoreless draws. But Villarreal star Gerard Moreno will be one of the oddsmakers’ favorites for the tie’s first goal after finishing second in La Liga this season with 23 goals. The 29-year-old has been the top-scoring Spaniard in the last two seasons and will head to Euro 2020 with Spain after the final.
After finishing seventh in La Liga, a win would see Villarreal qualify for Champions League while a defeat would make the Spanish side an inaugural member of the UEFA Conference League.
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