Paul Scholes predicts Man United v Villarreal in Europa League final
Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves look ahead to Man United's clash with Villarreal in the Europa League final later this month
Paul Scholes is backing Manchester United to claim a comfortable win over Villarreal in the Europa League final later this month.
The Red Devils will aim to win their first major piece of silverware under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when they take on Unai Emery’s side in the showpiece on 26 May.
Manchester United booked their spot in the final thanks to their 8-5 aggregate win over AS Roma in the semi-finals, and despite losing 3-2 to the Italian side in the second leg on Thursday night.
Villarreal, meanwhile, are through after holding Arsenal to a goalless draw on Thursday night at The Emirates to claim a 2-1 victory over the Gunners.
Manchester United are likely to be the favourites for the Europa League final clash later this month, and former Red Devils star Scholes feels that they are in line to claim the win and the trophy.
Speaking to BT Sport on Thursday night, Scholes said: “I haven’t seen a lot of Villarreal and they do have goals in their teams.
“It’s hard to go against Unai Emery with his record in the competition but United have hit some real form at the right time.
“I expect them [Man United] to win it with the squad they’ve got.”
Meanwhile, former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves added: “Unai Emery is close to getting the trophy named after him, the amount of times he’s won it.
“It will be a tough game, with Unai’s experience and because Villarreal have a lot of goal-scorers in their side.
“But Manchester United are favourites. They’ve got the best squad, the most talented players.
“If the likes of Bruno [Fernandes], [Edinson] Cavani and [Paul] Pogba turn up, they should get the job done.”
Manchester United, who are second in the table, are back in Premier League action on Sunday when they take on Aston Villa at Villa Park.
