How Manchester United should line up vs Athletic Bilbao in Europa League semi-final fixture

Manchester United will be hoping to seal their place in the Europa League final when they welcome Athletic Bilbao to Old Trafford on Thursday evening for their semi-final second leg.

United are 3-0 up on aggregate following last week's first leg in Spain, meaning they are in a commanding position to book their place in the Europa League final.

Head coach Ruben Amorim shuffled his pack for Sunday's 4-3 defeat at Brentford in the Premier League, meaning he is poised to revert to a similar XI to the one that started last Thursday's first leg at the San Mames Stadium.

Regarding the team news, Amorim has confirmed Matthijs de Ligt will be unavailable for the next two games after suffering a suspected knee injury against Brentford. He also confirmed that he does not anticipate any fresh faces to be back in the squad.

Below, our writers have had their say on how they would like to see United line up tonight:

United should play the team that can be pencilled in for the final tonight. With De Ligt out, Noussair Mazraoui is a logical choice at right centre back while Amad is a natural fit for the right wing. Manuel Ugarte and Casemiro is the established midfield pairing for the meaningful matches in the run-in, while the three forward positions are also locked in, irrespective of their domestic form.

Kobbie Mainoo is the main man who would miss out but his absence is not particularly glaring, given recent selections.

This will be a very strong United team and arguably the one that starts the final, although that could change if either De Ligt or Dalot prove their fitness or Amorim decides he wants the left-foot of Shaw in defence. For now, Mazraoui, Maguire and Yoro are the back three.

This is the ideal opportunity to give Amad an