Smart Acca Picks: Barcelona vs Man Utd Providing Great Value

On Thursday night, Shakhtar Donetsk hosts Rennes in the Europa League.

The home side will be looking to improve on their lacklustre showing in the Champions League that saw them without a win in their last five outings, having drawn 1-1 with Celtic twice, while being beaten 2-1 by Real Madrid and drawing with Los Blancos 1-1. Their last outing in the Champions League saw them thrashed 4-0 at home by RB Leipzig.

Rennes will be hoping to use this match to find some form, as since their 3-0 win over Strasbourg on 1st February where Amine Gouiri bagged a brace and Desire Doue got on the scoresheet, they have lost both of their last two matches by 3-1 scorelines to Lille and Toulouse.

Ajax and Union Berlin go head to head at the Johan Cruijjf Arena in what could be a fascinating tie.

The home side are third in the Dutch Eredivisie, having picked up significantly performance-wise under Johnny Heitinga following the sacking of Alfred Schreuder, beating Excelsior 4-1, Cambuur 5-0 and RKC Waalwijk 3-1 in their first three matches under the ex-Everton defender.

On the other hand, Union Berlin are in hot pursuit of Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, as they are second in the table and have won all of their last five matches, defeating Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg, Mainz and RB Leipzig by 2-1 scorelines, while also beating city rivals Hertha Berlin 2-0 away from home as Danilho Doekhi and Paul Seguin both scored in a memorable derby win.

Barcelona versus Manchester United is the tie of the day, with these two heavyweights meeting at the Nou Camp in the Europa League on Thursday.

The Nou Camp club have won all of their last five matches, defeating Real Sociedad, Girona and Villarreal by 1-0 scorelines, as well as Real Betis 2-1 and Sevilla 3-0.

Erik ten Hag’s United side have found themselves in an unlikely Premier League title fight, and have won four of their last five fixtures, beating Leeds United 2-0 last time out after a thrilling 2-2 draw with the Whites at Old Trafford earlier on last week. Prior to this, the Red Devils had beaten Crystal Palace 2-1, Nottingham Forest 2-0 and Reading 3-1.

Sporting Lisbon against FC Midtjylland will be an interesting tie on Thursday night in the Europa League.

Ruben Amorim’s men were beaten 2-1 at home to FC Porto last time out, ending a three-match winning run following victories over Rio Ave 1-0, Sporting Braga 5-0 and Vizela 2-1 after a 2-2 draw with Benfica.

Midtjylland managed to get through their Europa League group despite winning just two of their last five matches, memorably thrashing Lazio 5-1 and defeating Sturm Graz on either side of a 2-1 loss to Lazio and back-to-back 2-2 draws with Feyenoord.

Juventus against Nantes could provide plenty of entertainment, with Juve likely needing to win this competition if they are to requalify for next season’s Champions League.

Massimiliano Allegri’s men have won their last three matches, having beaten Fiorentina 1-0, Salernitana 3-0 and Lazio 1-0 after suffering a shock 2-0 home loss to Monza after a 3-3 draw with Atalanta.

Nantes have also won their last three fixtures, having beaten Lorient 1-0 and Ajaccio 2-0 on either side of a penalty shootout win over Angers in the Coupe de France after the match had resulted in a 1-1 draw. Prior to the aforementioned fixtures, Nantes had lost 2-0 to Marseille and drawn 0-0 away at Clermont Foot.

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