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08th Dec 2016

Vastly outnumbered Zorya supporter ‘tries to attack United fan’ in empty stadium

A team of stewards were on him in seconds

Rob Burnett

A Zorya supporter has reportedly tried to attack a Manchester United fan – even before the stadium filled up for tonight’s Europa League tie.

United are taking on the Ukrainian side in freezing cold temperatures in their final Group A match tonight, but trouble broke out before kick off in the Slavutych Arena.

The Daily Mail reports that one home supporter tried to attack a United fan – when there was just a handful of people inside the ground.

Of course violence of any kind at a football match is no laughing matter, but the image below showing a group of stewards moving in to break it up, surrounded by completely empty stands shows how ridiculous the situation was.

Jose Mourinho has named a strong team for the match, knowing that a draw will be enough to see them through to the knockout stages of the competition.

Mourinho’s side are second in in Group A, a point behind Fenerbahce, and two points ahead of Feyenoord. Zorya are already certain to finish bottom of the group, and have just two points from five games.

Memphis Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin have not travelled with the United squad to Ukraine. Michael Carrick, Antonio Valencia and Matteo, all of whom played in the 1-1 draw against Everton, also miss the trip.

Wayne Rooney returns following suspension, and captains the side, while Eric Bailly comes back into the team after a spell out with a knee injury. There is also room for Henrikh Mkhitaryanin the starting XI.

Here’s the United starting XI for the game:

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