Man. United v Feyenoord background

Manchester United take on Feyenoord in UEFA Europa League Group A mindful that the wrong combination of results could end their round of 32 hopes on matchday five.

• If Feyenoord win they are through.

• If Fenerbahçe win and United lose, Fenerbahçe are through.

• If Feyenoord and Fenerbahçe both win, United and Zorya will both be out.

• Zorya must win to stay in contention.

Previous meetings
• Tonny Vilhena scored the only goal as Feyenoord beat United 1-0 in Rotterdam on matchday one.

• The clubs went head-to-head in the 1997/98 UEFA Champions League group stage, United winning 2-1 at Old Trafford and 3-1 away. Andrew Cole scored a hat-trick in the latter game, on 5 November. Current Feyenoord boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst played in both legs.

• The sides for the match at Old Trafford on 22 October 1997 were:
United: Schmeichel, G Neville, Irwin, Pallister, Beckham, Butt, Cole (Solskjær 81), Sheringham, Giggs, P Neville, Scholes.
Feyenoord: Dudek, Graff, Van Gastel, Picún, Van Wonderen, Sánchez (Boateng 76), Van Bronckhorst (Korneev 38), Bosvelt, Schuiteman, Van Gobbel, Connolly (Vos 73).

• United's 15 encounters with Dutch opposition have ended W7 D3 L5 (W5 D1 L1 at home). Having won their first five home games against Dutch teams, United are now without a victory in two – a 2-1 loss to Ajax in 2012 and a 0-0 draw with PSV Eindhoven in 2015.

• Feyenoord's record in 22 fixtures against English opponents reads: W7 D5 L10 (W2 D4 L4 in England). Those matches include a 4-2 aggregate triumph over Tottenham Hotspur in the 1974 UEFA Cup final (a 2-2 draw in north London followed by a 2-0 home success in Rotterdam).

Form guide
• United are unbeaten in 13 European home games (W10 D3) since a 2-1 reverse to Real Madrid in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League round of 16.

• Feyenoord are without a victory in their last three European away fixtures.

• This is United's first UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League group stage campaign. The UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League is the only major European trophy United have never won.

• Feyenoord have lifted the UEFA Cup twice, in 1973/74 and 2001/02. They last featured in this competition in 2014/15, reaching the round of 32 where a 2-1 home loss to Roma halted their challenge.

Links and trivia
• The journey from Rotterdam to Manchester is around 500km.

• United's Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar, 2007/08 to 2010/11), Daley Blind (Ajax, 2008/09 to August 2014) and Memphis Depay (PSV Eindhoven, 2011/12 to 2014/15) all have considerable Eredivisie experience.

• In Blind, Depay and Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who joined United aged 16 from Ajax in September 2014, the Red Devils have three Dutch players on their books.

• Feyenoord's Dirk Kuyt had six seasons with United's north-west rivals Liverpool from 2006/07 to the close of the 2011/12 campaign, making 208 top-flight outings. Three of his 51 Premier League goals came in a 3-1 success over United on 6 March 2011.

• Feyenoord's Brad Jones was reserve goalkeeper at Liverpool for three seasons before leaving in June 2015. He faced United once, in a 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford on 14 December 2014.

• After netting against Fenerbahçe on matchday four, Wayne Rooney is United's joint-top scorer in UEFA competition along with Ruud van Nistelrooy on 38 goals.

The coaches
• José Mourinho took over as United boss this summer. Having made his name winning the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League with Porto, he lifted Europe's top club prize again with Internazionale Milano and three Premier League titles during two stints at Chelsea.

• In Mourinho's last term in this competition, he steered his Porto side to the 2003 UEFA Cup final, where they edged Celtic 3-2 in Seville. He has accumulated 125 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup fixtures since then.

• Giovanni van Bronckhorst led Feyenoord to Dutch Cup glory last season, his first in charge of his old club. As a player, the former Netherlands captain landed league titles with Rangers, Arsenal and Barcelona, scooping the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League with the Catalans.