Tyrell Malacia explains why Manchester United might have to change their style vs Barcelona

Left-back Tyrell Malacia has warned that Manchester United might have to be prepared to win "ugly" when they face Barcelona in the second leg of their Europa League play-off tie at Old Trafford on Thursday night.

The scores are level at two apiece following last week's enthralling first leg at Camp Nou, meaning both sides will fancy their chances of progressing to the last 16. In the eyes of many, however, United are the favourites to come through the tie unscathed and keep their European ambitions for this season alive because of their excellent home record.

The Reds have turned Old Trafford back into a fortress this season, winning 14 of their last 15 matches on their own patch. They have also beaten the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur on home soil this term.

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But despite their significant improvements, Malacia, who started last week's first leg in Spain, is aware of the challenge that Barcelona will pose. He has also warned of the nature of this fixture and how anything can happen in knockout football.

"You have to be on your A-game because normally it's, at the end [in the final] it's one game but now it's two games, so you have to be on your A-game because if you lose, you're out of the tournament," Malacia told United's club website. "It's important."Especially with this coach [Erik ten Hag], you want to play good football, but at the end, the result is the most important thing. Sometimes you have to win in an ugly way, those kind of games you also have."

Should United come out on top it will be another achievement for Ten Hag to add his collection since arriving at Old Trafford less than a year ago. One of the