Thursday 16 February 2017 20:09, UK
Charlie Nicholas is expecting both Tottenham and Man Utd to find it hard going in their Europa League last-32 first legs.
Both Premier League sides are expected to progress into the final 16, with Jose Mourinho's side considered favourites with Sky Bet to win the competition followed by Spurs.
However, Soccer Saturday pundit Nicholas is not expecting either team to cruise through their first legs. Here's what he's predicting for the two ties in his Sky Bet tips...
Gent v Tottenham (Thursday, 6pm)
Suddenly a little spanner has been thrown into the works for Spurs, who everybody was saying were genuine contenders, and they are now facing their critics after a really poor performance at Liverpool.
Now Mauricio Pochettino has to decide what his priorities are and how to shuffle his pack with the Europa League sandwiching the FA Cup at the weekend.
I would imagine he will make a point about how unhappy he is, with Eric Dier in particular extremely poor at centre-back once again against Liverpool.
I know Victor Wanyama is the main holding midfielder but he might want to play them as a pair for a bit more protection and bring Kevin Wimmer in at centre-back until Jan Vertonghen returns.
I would think Pochettino will only make two or three changes here but I'd expect Dele Alli and Harry Kane to get a rest, with Vincent Janssen coming in.
Charlie predicts: 1-1 and Vincent Janssen to score first - 30/1 with Sky Bet
Manchester United v St Etienne (Thursday, 8.05pm)
This is an awkward one for United because Jose Mourinho is chasing the EFL Cup on February 26 and will also be keen to do well in the FA Cup.
He will make a good few changes but while he's got a lot of numbers in the squad there are not that many that he really trusts.
I think Zlatan Ibrahimovic will get a rest and he'll bring in Marcus Rashford to join Juan Mata, who has been so important recently, and give Anthony Martial another chance to impress.
St Etienne have always had quite a strong physical side and United's weakness this season has been their struggle to break sides down at Old Trafford.
I think this could be another one of those frustrating nights where they always look in control but only come away with a narrow advantage.
Charlie predicts: 1-0 and Antony Martial to score - 22/1 with Sky Bet
