Miroslav Koubek will welcome Rúben Amorim to the Doosan Arena (previously known as Stadion města Plzně) on matchday 6 of the UEFA Europa League when Viktoria Plzeň hosts Manchester United.
At this point in the competition, it is a make-or-break for both managers. Both teams are not too far off the top eight, which guarantees automatic qualification to the knockout rounds of the tournament. Koubek will be under the most scrutiny if things fail to go the way of the Czech First League team after the final whistle goes off. Amorim, meanwhile, only has to show enough to give the fans and INEOS, the club’s football administrators, hope for the future.
INEOS sacked Erik ten Hag because he was not doing well and brought in Amorim, who was flying with Sporting CP Lisbon in the Portuguese Primeira Liga Betclic to try and change their fortunes in the 2024/25 season. The former Portugal national team and Benfica midfielder’s decision has baffled many in his home country and even in England. Still, football being a game that is fuelled by dreams has led to less scrutiny of his decision.
This does not mean that the scrutiny is not coming. The English media are notoriously brutal with managers who do not fit their mould of what they think it is to be one. Amorim is a young upstart whose path to management is questionable at best, but he has been able to cement his place as one of the best young managers in the world. How he performs in games like these is what will determine the media attention that would be directed his way.
There is no history to pull from for this match preview. However, we can take a look at their individual form in their domestic leagues as well as their Europa League form to make inferences.
The hosts are second in their league and have scored more than twice the goals that United have in the Premier League, where United are nestled in mid-table, a position which their fans are unfamiliar with. In the Europa League, both teams have performed equally (Plzeň have conceded six while United have conceded five, however), which has seen them secure a mid-table place that guarantees them a spot in the qualifiers playoffs, depending on how other results go.
United also have the most clean sheets in Europe, despite not playing the best football. Plzeň do not enjoy as much success in defence, but they can rest easy and prepare as usual because their visitors have been toothless in attack.
This infers that both teams are evenly matched going into their meeting on 12 December, as many will argue that the quality in the Premier League is higher than the quality in the Czech First League. However, Koubek is going up against Amorim, the young upstart who is gunning for the “best manager” award in Europe at the end of the season.
Amorim left Sporting at the top of the table in Portugal with a 100 percent record (no draws or losses) and left them in second place on the UEFA Champions League table behind Liverpool (three wins and one draw). Among those he has squashed this season are Manchester City, FC Porto and LOSC Lille, all of whom are significantly better than Plzeň on paper.
The 39-year-old manager has an uphill battle at United and he has started showing signs of what he can do. However, it is only two games he will have before facing Koubek, but the veteran Czech manager will remember his 2024/25 season so far and will surely have headaches about it.
As both managers prepare their tactics for this chance meeting, here is information on matchday tickets, as well as team news and our predictions on the starting XIs of both teams and the eventual scoreline.
Match tickets
As stated earlier, Doosan Arena (previously known as Stadion města Plzně) is the host venue for this meeting. Fans can get their Viktoria Plzeň vs Manchester United tickets by visiting the official websites, channels, and partner platforms of either club.
UEFA also has a ticket portal where fans can search for Viktoria Plzeň tickets or Manchester United tickets and get directions on how to purchase them.
Travelling fans and tourist fans, as well as tourists in general who just want to witness a football atmosphere are best served by hunting for the tickets on ticket resale platforms.
This Europa League matchday 6 fixture is scheduled for 12 December 2024 at 6:45 PM UK time.
Team news
Viktoria Plzeň is a team that is competing for titles on the home front, which means that rotations and squad management will be top of mind for Miroslav Koubek. He has managed to build a team without three key players who suffered long-term injuries last season and whose return dates are unknown. Luckily, he has no injury or fitness concerns going into the Man United game which means that he can afford to call up his best squad for the match.
United, on the other hand, are only dealing with Harry Maguire’s fitness issues right now but he is scheduled to return a week or two before they travel to Czechia.
Amorim, however, will have to be careful with his squad selections as the fixtures on either side of the clash with Plzeň are tricky.
Line-ups
Former Manchester United captain Maguire will return to the starting lineup for this match as Amorim will want to rest the club’s other first-choice centrebacks. This is the perfect match for the England international to find his rhythm once again and we expect Amorim to hand him a starting berth. Plzeň will not take the game lightly unlike Man United and will hit them with everything they have got. This means starting their best available XI from the jump, because of the distance in individual quality between both teams.
Here is how we expect each coach to line their teams up.
Viktoria Plzeň: Jedlička; Paluska, Markovic, Jemelka; Havel, Kalvach, Cerv, Cadu; Jirka, Sulc; P.K. Adu.
Manchester United: Onana; Mazraoui, Lindelof, Maguire, Dalot; Casemiro, Ugarte; Diallo, Fernandes, Garnacho; Højlund.
Prediction
Fans who are holders of Viktoria Plzeň tickets and Manchester United tickets are in for an exciting game where both teams would be trying to make history as the first winner of—hopefully, many more—this clash. Koubek will not show any respect for Manchester United and Amorim will be looking to make an immediate impact thanks to the weight of responsibility he has taken upon himself.
We expect an open game where both teams will attack each other and defend themselves from the other’s attacks. A draw is the best outcome and our prediction of the outcome of the game.
Viktoria Plzeň 2 – 2 Manchester United.
