Manchester United will hope to ease their woes on Thursday night when they visit Porto in the Europa League after their horrendous defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

The Erik ten Hag cycle is in full swing at the moment with United enduring another lull following a brief period of optimism. The Red Devils were held at home by FC Twente in their league phase opener before producing an abhorrent display in a 3-0 loss to Tottenham at the weekend.

United continue to look like a poorly coached side bereft of inspiration and identity, with Ten Hag potentially having until the October international break – which is just two games away – to save his job once again. His side travel to Villa Park on Sunday after returning from Portugal.

Porto are under new management following the summer exit of Sergio Conceicao, with long-time assistant Vitor Bruno stepping into the hot seat. A 2-0 defeat away to champions Sporting CP is the only blemish on Bruno’s domestic record so far, but Porto were also beaten in their opening league phase fixture by Bodo/Glimt last week.

Here is 90min’s guide to this Europa League clash.

Porto vs Man Utd H2H Record (Last Five Games)

Current form (all competitions)

Porto will be without long-term absentees Ivan Marcano and Zaidu Sanusi once again on Thursday night. The pair are in the latter stages in their recoveries from anterior cruciate ligament tears, however.

Otavio is the other injury concern for the home side, with the centre-back dealing with a muscle injury which could rule him out for the fourth-straight game.

Arsenal loanee Fabio Vieira could be fit for a start given he returned from injury at the weekend, while Samu Omorodion, who Chelsea courted in the summer before he eventually joined the Portuguese club, is set to lead the line.

Porto predicted lineup vs Man Utd (4-2-3-1): Costa; Mario, Pedro, Perez, Moura; Gonzalez, Varela; Pepe, Vieira, Galeno; Omorodion.

The visitors were dealt a couple more injury blows at the weekend during their woeful defeat to Tottenham.

Kobbie Mainoo limped off just after Bruno Fernandes’ red card with an unspecified injury and is unlikely to feature in Porto. Mason Mount also succumbed to a head injury on Sunday and likely won’t play a part.

Ten Hag is still without Leny Yoro, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia, while Harry Maguire was absent from Sunday’s squad with a knock.

Rasmus Hojlund could replace Joshua Zirkzee up top with Christian Eriksen coming into midfield to support former Sporting CP midfielder Manuel Ugarte.

Man Utd predicted lineup vs Porto (4-2-3-1): Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Dalot; Eriksen, Ugarte; Diallo, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund.

Ten Hag has found ways of winning at crucial times to keep his job, but how can you back this United team to go into the Dragao and claim a positive result? They’re in disarray.

There must be some sort of response to Sunday’s mess but far more competent and confident outfits have struggled away at Porto in recent years. Just look at Arsenal last season.

While Conceicao and veteran defender Pepe are out the door, Porto remain a tough and rugged outfit with great midfield balance and dangerous outlets. This is a big occasion for the hosts and they should take advantage of United’s woes on Thursday.

Prediction: Porto 2-1 Man Utd

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