Old Trafford will be rocking on Thursday night as Manchester United, Europa League dreams very much alive, look to complete the job against an Athletic Bilbao side desperately trying to avoid turning their season into a Netflix tragedy. After romping to a 3-0 win in the first leg—at San Mamés no less—the Red Devils return home with one foot in the final, possibly already shopping for flights back to the Basque Country where the final will be staged. Talk about full circle.

United fans are still reeling (and laughing nervously) from their bonkers 4-3 loss to Brentford in the league, where head coach Ruben Amorim fielded what looked suspiciously like the under-15s. Still, in Europe, they’ve been sharp. Bruno Fernandes played like he was powered by Portuguese espresso in the first leg, scoring twice, while Casemiro added another to stun the home crowd and silence Bilbao’s impressive home record. The Spaniards, previously unbeaten at home in Europe this season, suddenly looked more like tourists than contenders.

Of course, Amorim is staying humble, warning that “anything can happen in one game,” which in football usually translates to “we’re still terrified something ridiculous could go wrong.” But history is on United’s side—133 teams have previously won the away first leg of a European tie by three or more goals, and all 133 went through. That’s a stat even the most pessimistic fan can cling to like a comfort blanket.

Athletic Bilbao, meanwhile, are looking for goals—and possibly divine intervention. Ernesto Valverde’s side couldn’t score in a paint-by-numbers match against Real Sociedad last weekend, and have now drawn blanks in six of their last nine. It’s a far cry from the swashbuckling Bilbao of old, and the pressure is growing, not least because their place in La Liga’s top four is suddenly under threat from Villarreal. Talk about juggling swords.

The absences of Dani Vivian (suspended), and possible injuries to key men Nico Williams and Oihan Sancet, make the challenge even steeper. Valverde may have to throw on everyone with a pulse in the second half and hope one of them becomes the Basque saviour.

Expect a goal-happy affair. Athletic will go for it, United will counter with glee, and somewhere in the chaos, I see a 3-2 win for the home side. Into the final they go unless football decides to write one of its crueler scripts.

老特拉福德将在周四晚上为曼联带来震撼，曼联的欧联杯之梦依然鲜活，他们希望在对阵毕尔巴鄂竞技的比赛中完成任务，而毕尔巴鄂竞技正竭力避免把他们的赛季变成Netflix的悲剧。在首回合比赛中轻松3-0战胜圣马姆萨梅斯之后，红魔带着一脚踢进决赛的感觉回到了家乡，可能已经在购买飞往决赛举办地巴斯克地区的机票了。这是一个完整的循环。

曼联球迷还在为他们4-3输给布伦特福德的疯狂比赛而震惊（并紧张地大笑），主教练鲁本·阿莫里姆派出了可疑的15岁以下球员。不过，在欧洲，它们一直很尖锐。布鲁诺·费尔南德斯在首回合的表现就像被葡萄牙浓缩咖啡所推动一样，梅开二度，而卡塞米罗又梅开二度，震惊了主场观众，也打破了毕尔巴鄂令人印象深刻的主场纪录。本赛季在欧洲主场保持不败的西班牙人突然看起来更像游客，而不是竞争者。

当然，阿莫里姆保持谦虚，他警告说“任何事情都可能在一场比赛中发生”，这在足球比赛中通常意味着“我们仍然担心会出现一些荒谬的事情。”但历史是站在曼联一边的，此前曾有133支球队在欧战首回合客场以3球或3球以上的优势获胜，133支球队全部晋级。这是一个即使是最悲观的球迷也能像安慰毯一样紧紧抓住的数据。

与此同时，毕尔巴鄂竞技队正在寻找进球——可能是神的干预。埃内斯托·巴尔韦德的球队在上周末与皇家社会的比赛中未能进球，目前他们在过去的9场比赛中有6场平局。现在的毕尔巴鄂与过去的毕尔巴鄂大不相同，压力也越来越大，尤其是因为他们在西甲前四的位置突然受到比利亚雷亚尔的威胁。说说耍剑吧。

达尼·维维安（停赛）的缺席，以及关键球员尼科·威廉姆斯和奥汉·桑切特可能受伤，使挑战变得更加严峻。巴尔韦德可能不得不在下半场把每一个有脉搏的人都抛到一边，希望他们中的一个能成为巴斯克的救世主。

期待一个目标快乐的事情。竞技会去争取，曼联会高兴地反击，在混乱中，我看到主队会以3-2获胜。除非足球决定写一个更残酷的剧本，否则他们将进入决赛。