Manchester United v Athletic Bilbao: Line-ups, stats and preview

Preview for Manchester United v Athletic Bilbao

Even the most die-hard Manchester United fan would not have predicted their side winning 3-0 in Spain in the first leg last week.

Ruben Amorim’s men were superb at San Mames, albeit obviously helped by the 35th-minute dismissal of Athletic defender Dani Vivian. They took advantage of their numerical superiority with two goals from Bruno Fernandes after Casemiro had opened the scoring.

The result gives United an incredible opportunity to rescue something from what has been a thoroughly miserable season.

If they can complete the job against Athletic and then see off either Tottenham or Bodo/Glimt in the final, they will have secured a place in next season’s Champions League, a feat that would be hugely important for the club on and off the field.

The importance of this fixture can’t be stressed enough ❤️‍🔥#MUFC || #UEL pic.twitter.com/iatC73VWc1

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 6, 2025

Not only would it help Sir Jim Ratcliffe clean up the finances but it would also enable Amorim to shop in a different market this summer knowing he can offer new recruits a place in Europe’s elite club competition.

For Athletic, the first leg was a huge let-down.

The prospect of playing a major European final in their home stadium – San Mames will stage the title decider on May 21 – appeared to get to Ernesto Valverde’s players and they fluffed their lines.

They now require a miracle at Old Trafford to get their dream back on track.

Amorim will be able to revert to his strongest XI after making wholesale changes for Sunday’s defeat at Brentford, although defender Matthijs de Ligt is a doubt after sustaining an injury at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Athletic’s hopes of producing a remarkable comeback have been hit by the loss of arguably four of their most important players.

Vivian is suspended while top-scorer Oihan Sancet, who has 17 goals in all competitions this season, has not recovered from the injury that kept him out of the first game. It is the absence of the Williams brothers that will harm Athletic most, though. Inaki has a thigh problem while there has been no update on Nico, although he was not included in the official squad list to travel to England.

🗒 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗩𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗔

Ernesto Valverde cita a 2⃣4⃣ jugadores para el partido de mañana ante el @ManUtd en Old Trafford.

ℹ Plan de viaje 👉 https://t.co/CGx670xD3A#MUFCAthletic #UniqueInTheWorld 🦁 pic.twitter.com/zc1oUqi7cJ

— Athletic Club (@AthleticClub) May 7, 2025