Manchester United advantage over Athletic Bilbao for Europa League semi-final might be ruled out

Manchester United advantage over Athletic Bilbao for Europa League semi-final might be ruled out

Man Utd will take on Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League semi-final first leg after facing Bournemouth on Sunday.

Inaki Williams celebrates with his teammates. (Image: AFP or licensors )

Athletic Bilbao could look to rotate their starting team between the two legs against Manchester United in the Europa League semi-final.

Athletic Bilbao are in pole position to qualify for the Champions League through their La Liga position this season, and rivals Villarreal suffered a 3-0 defeat to Celta Vigo earlier in the week.

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The Basque side have 60 points with five games remaining in La Liga, while Real Betis sit on 54 points and Villarreal have 52 points, although Villarreal are in action on Sunday afternoon and they could leapfrog Real Betis in the table with a victory over an in-form Espanyol at home.

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Even if Villarreal win against Espanyol, their defeat earlier this week means Bilbao will still have a five-point cushion in fourth place, which could give them the opportunity to rest players after facing United on Thursday night.

The first leg of the Europa League semi-final will be played at the Estadio de San Mames and the second leg at Old Trafford. Bilbao will face Real Sociedad in between those games.

The Premier League campaign is a write-off for United, which means Ruben Amorim will rotate against Brentford, the game in between the two Europa League semi-final legs, but Bilbao might also have the luxury of rotating their side thanks to their cushion in pursuit of Champions League football.

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They could also have a six-point cushion over their rivals if Villarreal lose against Espanyol today.

Speaking about the Europa League, Amorim said: "It matters a lot, what I’m saying with our current squad you have to take a risk and choose the priority. I want the best players in every game and sometimes it’s hard for me to take a risk in every game.

"But in this moment we have to make choices and I want to protect the young players, I don’t want to put everybody together in the same game so they can’t perform, I want to help the club and I am trying to help."

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