Why is Bruno Fernandes not playing for Manchester United against Fenerbahçe in the Europa League?

Bruno Fernandes will not play a part in Manchester United’s game against Fenerbahçe in the Europa League. The Portuguese midfielder will be forced to miss out for his side who sit 21st in the new-look division.

After 2 games, Manchester United have drawn twice, first against FC Twente (1-1) and then against Porto (3-3), with Erik ten Hag under mounting pressure as don’t seem to improve.

Why is Bruno Fernandes not playing for Manchester United in the Europa League?

Bruno Fernandes will not play due to suspension, after being sent off in the 3-3 draw against Porto. The midfielder got a booking in the first half of the game for a foul and then was sent off by referee Tobias Stieler with less than ten minutes to go for a second bookable offence. Ahead of being sent off, Fernandes had registered 2 shots off target, 0 successful dribbles and lost possession 10 times.

As such, he will serve a one-match ban and will not play against his compatriot. “It’s complicated but it’s never easy,” Erik ten Hag said on his absence. “We have to deal with it and we will deal with it as a team. We have many games in a short time and we will deal with it the best way possible.

On the game, he said that his team “have made progress and I think we made a good step [against Brentford] but we have to follow it up [against Fenerbahçe] and again on Sunday [against West Ham]. The players like to play football rather than training and we have so many games coming up. As long as we have enough players available then we don’t have to take any risks and at this moment we are still OK.”

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The game between Fenerbahçe and Manchester United will be played on Thursday 24 October at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, and will kick off at 3pm ET.

As mentioned, Manchester United sit in a lowly 21st position in the division, with their Turkish opponents above them in 14th.