Man Utd handed boost as Athletic Bilbao suffer devastating triply injury blow
United are already favourites to reach the final.
Athletic Bilbao will be without Nico and Inaki Williams for their Europa League semi-final second leg clash against Manchester United.
Ruben Amorim’s side eased to a 3-0 victory at in last week’s first leg at San Mames, taking control of the tie and taking a commanding step towards this year’s final.
Athletic went into that game with the best defensive record in Spain and the best home defensive record in Europe’s top five leagues having conceded just 10 goals.
But goals from Casemiro and two from Bruno Fernandes left the hosts reeling.
Ernesto Valverde will already be without Dani Vivan who was shown a straight red card for hauling down Rasmus Hojlund with Fernandes scoring the resulting penalty.
Get personalised updates on Manchester United every day
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you.
But the Athletic boss will also be without the hugely influential Williams brothers, neither of whom have been named in the squad travelling to Manchester.
Spain international Nico has been dealing with a groin issue in recent weeks and has not been deemed fit enough to travel.
His older brother Inaki is also absent with the club confirming he is struggling with a hamstring injury, awaiting further treatment.
Both brothers have scored 11 times this season.
Athletic also remain without top scorer Oihan Sancet. The Spain international, who has hit the back of the net 17 times this season, missed the first leg with a hamstring issue and has not recovered in time.
United were already favourites to progress to the final at the end of the month with an English final still on the horizon.
Tottenham lead Bodo Glimt 3-1 after their first leg.
San Mames, Athletic’s home ground will host the final with no plans to change the venue even if it is contested by two English teams.
Tottenham’s Premier League clash against Aston Villa has been moved to help Ange Postecoglou’s side in their preparations for a potential Europa League final against United.
Spurs were scheduled to take on Villa on Sunday 18 May with United in action against Chelsea on Friday 16 May.
The Premier League have now approved Tottenham’s request to reschedule the fixture at Villa Park to ensure they have the same preparation time as United – should both sides progress to the final.
Tottenham and United will now be in action on the same night against Villa and Chelsea respectively on the Friday, giving both sides four full days to prepare.
