Talking Points: Fenerbahce Vs Man. United

Manchester United return to action on Thursday with an overseas trip to face Fenerbahçe in the Europa League. Here are six talking points to dissect and discuss ahead of the match in Turkey…

1: A MASSIVE INCENTIVE
United are second in Group A and a victory at Sukru Saracoglu would create a five-point gap over third-placed Fenerbahçe, leaving the Reds needing just a draw from the two remaining matches against Feyenoord and Zorya Luhansk to secure qualification. Jose Mourinho will be determined to progress as early as possible, too, with important Premier League matches against Arsenal, West Ham, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur sandwiched around those couple of outstanding group games.

2: NO ROOM FOR PROFLIGACY
It was well-documented that United registered 37 goal attempts during Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Burnley at Old Trafford, which was the highest total since Opta's records began in the 2003/04 season. Assistant manager Rui Faria believes the goals will come and the onus is now on the players to start converting chances again, beginning with this Europa League tie. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the club's top scorer this season with six, but the Swede has not hit the back of the net since the 1-0 win over Zorya on 29 September. He will be determined to end that drought in Istanbul if selected by the boss.

3: BASTIAN WILL NOT RETURN
Bastian Schweinsteiger was pictured training with the first team on Monday morning, but he will definitely not feature in the match against Fenerbahçe due to his omission from the club’s Europa League squad that was submitted earlier this season. The manager may discuss the German midfielder during his pre-match press conference, which you can follow in ManUtd.com's live blog from 16:00 GMT on Wednesday.

4: ROBIN AND FENERBAHCE IN FORM
Although United dismantled Fenerbahce with relative ease at home, registering a comfortable 4-1 win beneath the Old Trafford floodlights, Thursday’s match should be a more difficult task. The Turkish club have been boosted by consecutive league wins over Konyaspor and Karabukspor since we last met, with Robin van Persie scoring twice as the latter opponents were beaten 5-0 at the weekend. The ex-Reds striker notched in the second half of the first meeting and will hope to show his quality again in this return fixture.

5: EXPECT A HOSTILE ATMOSPHERE
Matches in Turkey are historically fiery occasions amid the unique passion of the local supporters and United are braced for a testing night in Istanbul. Luke Shaw has not played there before but the young left-back has an idea of what to expect. “We know it will be hard,” he told ManUtd.com this week. “We beat them 4-1 so they will look for revenge, especially in front of a hostile crowd. We need to focus on what we need to do and, if we can do that, I am sure we will get maximum points.”

6: SAFETY ADVICE FOR FANS
The British government has issued advice for the 1,227 United supporters who are set to attend the match. You can read the guidance in the Worldwide > Turkey section of www.gov.uk.