Uefa Europa League Matchday 5: What to look out for

New manager Rúben Amorim will look to maintain Manchester United's unbeaten start in the league phase, while the momentum is with Galatasaray and Lazio in the Uefa Europa League.

Manchester United v Bodø/Glimt

Rúben Amorim's farewell to Sporting CP was a victory for the ages, his side beating Manchester City 4-1 in the Champions League to lay the ground for his switch to Old Trafford. "It couldn't be better than this," he told Uefa.com afterwards. A home game against Bodø/Glimt is a different proposition but the Portuguese coach's first match in charge of his new club is a major occasion.

Amorim was adamant that his new side will not play the same as the team he led to the Portuguese title last season, saying: "United cannot play the way [Sporting] play and we will have to adapt." Against Bodø/Glimt, the Red Devils can probably expect more possession than Sporting had against City (33 per cent). However, the Norwegian champions have been masters of the Thursday night upset in recent seasons, and would love to spoil Amorim's opener.

Did you know? Bodø/Glimt have lost only one of their five European away games this season (W3 D1 L1, 2-0 at Crvena Zvezda in the Champions League play-offs).

Tottenham Hotspur v Roma

Following a perfect start to their league phase campaign, Tottenham were brought back down to earth on Matchday 4 as they were on the wrong end of an entertaining 3-2 defeat at Galatasaray. Coach Ange Postecoglou blamed the loss on his side starting slowly, conceding "We could not show what we wanted in the first half," so expect to see Spurs coming out of the blocks quickly against Roma.

The Giallorossi have had a mixed time in their campaign so far, a 1-1 draw against Union SG leaving them on five points from four games and in the middle of the table. "We really need to start winning," admitted defender Gianluca Mancini after scoring in that match. "We did a lot of good things but we need to perform to that level in all aspects of the game."

In order to get back on track, Roma will have to something they have never managed before: win a game in London at their seventh attempt (D3 L3).

Did you know? Spurs have won their last seven Europa League home games in a row without conceding.

AZ Alkmaar v Galatasaray

Dries Mertens scored on his last visit to Alkmaar, putting Napoli ahead in a 1-1 draw in the Europa League almost four years ago. Having hit a hat-trick against them for Utrecht in the Eredivisie in 2011, the forward then struck on both of his trips to AZ with PSV and will have cause for confidence on his latest visit as part of a Galatasaray team averaging three goals a game.

Mertens received a presentation recognising 100 matches for the Turkish side before their win over Tottenham on Matchday 4. He delivered two assists in nine minutes for Victor Osimhen on the night he set a new appearance record for outfield players in the competition (67). Galatasaray are still dreaming of a repeat their 1999/2000 Uefa Cup. In current form, could this be their season?

Did you know? Yunus Akgün's wonder strike against Spurs made the 24-year-old only the second Galatasaray player ever to score in four consecutive Uefa games. Burak Yılmaz scored in six successive Champions League games in 2012/13.

Lazio v Ludogorets

The last time Pedro Rodríguez scored three or more in a Europa League campaign, the last of his five in 2018/19 came in Chelsea's 4-1 win over Arsenal in the final. Lazio have not reached the knockout stage in their last three appearances in the competition but the 37-year-old's 92nd-minute winner against Porto means they are the only team to have won all four of their league phase games this season.

"It's a golden moment," the Spaniard said of his form after scoring in a third consecutive game. The Eagles will target another step towards qualification against winless Ludogorets at the Stadio Olimpico, where the Bulgarian side might take inspiration from their 1-0 victory on their only previous visit to Lazio almost 11 years ago, when both sides missed a penalty and had a player sent off.

Did you know? Having produced a goal and an assist in his first ten games in the competition for Lazio, Pedro has scored five times and set up two more in his last seven.

Plus

Ajax are the top scorers in the league phase with 13 goals going into Matchday 5, but they can expect stubborn resistance as they visit Real Sociedad. The Amsterdam side scored three or more in two of their last three games in Spain, a 3-0 win at Valencia in 2019, and a 4-1 victory at Real Madrid earlier the same year.

Having scored a glorious free-kick to earn a 1-0 win against Slavia Praha on Matchday 4, Frankfurt's Omar Marmoush is fast becoming one of the hottest properties in European football. Expect the scouts to be out in force if the on-song Egyptian leads the line again at Midtjylland.

Dynamo Kyiv have made a great start in the Ukrainian Premier League but their Europa League form has not been the best. As they take on Viktoria Plzeň, Oleksandr Shovkovskyi's side are yet to pick up a point and are the only team without a goal in the competition so far.

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