UEFA Europa League Preview: Manchester United vs Ajax - TheSportsCampus.com

Reigning English champions Manchester United will host Dutch Champions Ajax at Old Trafford in the second leg of the Europa league round of 32 match. Although United were far from convincing in the first leg, their superior quality in front of goal meant that they emerged comfortable winners.

They managed to bag two important away goals as well, with Ashley Young opening the scoring and Javier Hernandez bagging the second and also kept a clean sheet, which means that they will now be the heavy favourites to progress into the round of 16 of Europe's second tier competition.

Manchester United

United breezed past Ajax last time around and will be expected to do much of the same at home. Sir Alex Ferguson may decide to rotate his pack and give some game time to players who have been spending time on bench, although he will be wary of making too many changes keeping in mind the fact that his tinkering was partly responsible for United's exit from the Champions League.

Bulgarian hitman Dimitar Berbatov might be handed a start and he will be looking to make an impact in order to stake his claim to a permanent starting berth. With a league game against Norwich coming up just two days after this match, Wayne Rooney might be rested and Danny Welbeck may get a look in. The young Englishman has exceptional finishing skills and his prowess combined with the finesse of Berbatov will pose Ajax problems.

The midfield is where the battle will be won or lost for United though as Michael Carrick will be responsible for providing his defence with some protection and Tom Cleverly will be given the task of being the main playmaker. Chris Smalling will be expected to make a return from injury and the defence is likely to be a relatively young one, with the likes of Phil Jones, Fabio and Johnny Evans getting starts.

United will, in all probability, be looking to catch Ajax on the counter as the Dutch outfit are likely to attack from the word go. The Red Devils are an exceptional counter attacking outfit and could punish Ajax badly should they leave too much space at the back.

On the injury front United currently have as many as 5 players on the treatment table including Nemanja Vidic, Antonio Valencia, Anders Lindegaard, Anderson and Michael Owen, while Darren Fletcher is still out with illness and Ryan Giggs is suffering from a minor ankle problem.

Ajax

After losing to United, Ajax got back to winning ways in style, with a 4-1 victory over NEC Nijmegen in the league. The Dutch side's forte is their ability to stifle opponents with their quick closing down of players and they will need to do more of the same against their illustrious opponents if they are to have any chance of overturning the two goal deficit.

Dmitri Bulykin scored a brace at the weekend and he will need to be on the top of his game in order to trouble United's backline.  Miralem Sulejmani's crosses will be a source of constant threat as will be his ability to find the back of the net, with the Serbian having scored 12 goals in 28 appearances this season.

However, the two most crucial players for Ajax will be midfielders Siem de Jong and Christian Eriksen. The former even scored against NEC, while the latter is perhaps the ace in the pack for the Dutch side. In fact the duo have also scored 12 goals between them this season and will be a threat to the Red Devils. Captain Jan Vertonghen will have his work cut out defensively, although his ability to foray forward could catch United unaware.

Ajax too have a lot of injury problems with the likes of Derk Boerrigter (back injury), Andre Ooijer (strain), Kolbeinn Sigthorsson (Malleolar injury), Gregory van Der Wiel (groin strain), Theo Janssen (groin), Eyong Enoh and Nicolai Boilesen (hamstring) on the treatment table.

Head to Head:

16^th February, 2012: Ajax 0-2 Manchester United (Young 59' , Hernandez 85')

Form Guide:

Manchester United (WWDWL):
16th February, 2012: Ajax 0-2 Manchester United
11th February, 2012: Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool
5th February, 2012: Chelsea 3-3 Manchester United
31st January, 2012: Manchester United 2-0 Stoke
28th January, 2012: Liverpool 2-1 Manchester United (FA Cup)

Ajax (WLWLL)
19th February, 2012: Ajax 4-1 NEC
16th February, 2012: Ajax 0-2 Manchester United
12th February, 2012: Breda 0-2 Ajax
5th February, 2012: Ajax 0-2 Utrecht
29th January, 2012: Feyenoord 4-2 Ajax

Probable Line-up:

Manchester United (4-4-2): De Gea, Smalling, Jones, Evans, Fabio, Park, Cleverly, Carrick,Young, Berbatov, Welbeck

United will be expected to make quite a few changes to their lineup. Chris Smalling may make his long awaited return and may be used as a right back with Fabio operating on the left and Phil Jones and Johnny Evans holding fort at the centre. Tom Cleverly may start alongside Michael Carrick at the centre of the field, with Ashley Young and Park Ji-Sung out wide. Dimitar Berbatov may get a start, with Danny Welbeck spearheading the attack alongside him.

Ajax( 4-3-3): Vermeer, Koppers, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Anita, Eriksen, Aissati/Van Rhijn, De Jong, Sulejmani, Ozbiliz, Bulykin

Ajax have a host of injury problems and therefore may not make many changes from their last game against the Red Devils. The defence is likely to remain unchanged with Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld operating as the two centre backs with Dico Koppers on the left and Vurnon Anita on the right. The midfield will surely see Christian Eriksen and Siem de Jong starting with Ismail Aissati alongside them. However, Aissati has been unimpressive and therefore, like the game against NEC, Ajax could field Ricardo Van Rhijn in defence, with Vurnon Anita taking Aissati's place in midfield. The three pronged attack is likely to have Miralem Sulejmani and Aras Ozbiliz assisting Dmitri Bulykin.

Prediction: Manchester United will be expected to dominate at home and will be expected to score more than one, especially with Ajax likely to leave spaces at the back while going forward. Expect an easy victory, although the Dutch champions will breach United's defence.

Predicted Scoreline: Manchester United 3-1 Ajax

20 Feb, 2012