Manchester United’s Europa League last 16, first leg away to LASK Linz in Austria is one of five matches in the competition set to be playe...
Manchester United’s Europa League last 16, first leg away to LASK Linz in Austria is one of five matches in the competition set to be played behind closed doors on Thursday as the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc with football on the continent.
United confirmed on Tuesday that the decision had been made “following guidance from the Austrian government”, with the Alpine country having recorded 182 cases of COVID-19 by Tuesday.
The news will be a disappointment to supporters of the Austrian club hoping to see their team spring a surprise against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s in-form side.
United’s 2-0 derby win over Manchester City on Sunday saw them extend their current unbeaten run to 10 games, with eight clean sheets in that time. They are now hoping to seize the initiative in this tie before a weekend trip to Tottenham Hotspur.
Coached by the French former Bayern Munich and Crystal Palace defender Valerien Ismael, LASK are six points ahead of Salzburg at the top of the Austrian Bundesliga as they chase a first league title since 1965.
They lost to Club Brugge in Champions League qualifying this season. The Belgians then lost to Solskjaer’s side in the last round of the Europa League.
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