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Real Betis star Andrés Guardado has expressed cautious optimism that the Spanish club will prevail on Thursday against Manchester United. ‘
The two clubs are set to clash in the first leg of the Europa League Round of 16.
Guardado spoke to the press ahead of the game and said that Betis have what it takes to cause a massive disappointment at Old Trafford.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men will be boosted by their 0-0 draw against Real Madrid over the weekend.
The Mexican international told Marca via SportWitness, “Make very few mistakes. They are big teams and when you play against them, you have to make few mistakes, and the perfect thing is to be very successful up front.
“That you make the most of opportunities that you can create. But the squad, when the fixture came out, did not feel a feeling of uff, it’s Manchester.”
Guardado further mentioned, “Yes, we had the most difficult one, but we all feel it as a challenge that excites us a lot, we all really want to go play there. In the end, sooner or later, you were going to find rivals like that in a high-level Europa League. If we want to win it, we have to go through and play against them.”
The 36-year-old said that the Red Devils represent a nice challenge and that his teammates will need to be at their best on hostile grounds.
As per the player, United are currently in their best shape and form.
This should, however, not be cause for panic as the 20-time English champions will be treated like any other opponents.
As reported by The Peoples Person, Betis will not be able to count on the services of Nabil Fekir after the Frenchman suffered a season-ending injury.
United have a chance to grab a commanding lead at Old Trafford on Thursday and putting themselves in the driving seat when making the trip to Spain seven days later.
