Breaking Down Manchester United's Europa League Opponents FC Midtjylland

Much has been written about FC Midtjylland as a club synonymous with data, but when Manchester United face them in February 2016, what will the Red Devils be up against on the pitch?

The first important note is that the Danish side will just be emerging from an elongated winter break. That break has already begun, and United's trip to Denmark is the next fixture on the Jutland side's calendar. Indeed their next slated league fixture is not scheduled to kick off until after both legs with United are in the books, per Soccerway.

Last season, the number-crunchers took Midtjylland, a team formed in 1999, to their first league title. It was an impressive achievement.

Their star players included Pione Sisto, who scored eight goals from attacking midfield, earning himself a Denmark call-up in 2014. His impressive performance has seen him linked to a slew of Premier League clubs including Arsenal, per Tuttomercatoweb (h/t the Metro), and Everton, Manchester City and West Ham, per talkSPORT. 

Sisto has fine close control and is fond of a shot from range, taking an average of two shots per 90 minutes from outside the area in Midtjylland's Europa League campaign so far. He is quick and fond of a dribble, attempting 7.2 dribbles per 90 minutes in the Europa League, and successfully completing three of those.

He was also the Danes' leading scorer in the group stages, though it only took two goals for him to achieve that feat. Perhaps unsurprisingly, both came from outside the area. 

Sisto is not the only important individual talent at the club. In his article for Dutch website De Correspondent, Michiel De Hoog quotes Midtjylland's chairman Rasmus Ankersen as calling Tim Sparv the "no stats all-star."

Ankersen says of Sparv:

"

We have another number 6 [defensive midfielder], Izzuna [Uzochukwu] who looks the more impressive player. He is very strong, very athletic and he makes a lot of spectacular interceptions.

Our opponents’ coaches are often in awe of what he does. Sparv seldom gets that credit, but we believe that this is because his positioning is so great. He sees problems before they arise and so he doesn’t need to tackle or run as much as many other central midfielders do.

"

Incidentally, Sparv, a Finland international, is a self-described boyhood fan of Manchester United.

Midtjylland have played a variety of formations in this season's Europa League. Predominantly, they have set up in a 4-1-4-1, but they have also experimented with 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 and 4-4-2.

4-1-4-1 would seem a logical setup against United, especially assuming the Red Devils have not conquered their difficulties breaking down deep-lying defences by February.

As discussed on Monday, Midtjylland are a significant threat from set pieces. Sean Ingle of the Guardian wrote in July 2015 that nearly half of their goals in the league last season came from dead-ball situations. 

That could help explain why their goals this time around have been spread throughout the team. The most any individual player has to their name in the league is four—striker Morten Rasmussen bears that honour. However, 13 different players have got on the scoresheet at some point in the 17 league games they have played so far, including four defenders, per Soccerway. 

In open play, they will attack United with plenty of skill and pace, and as they proved against Southampton in making it to the Europa League group phase, they can beat Premier League opposition.

However, given they also suffered heavy defeats at the hands of Napoli in the group stages, they are clearly vulnerable to real attacking quality. Of course, that is something United have struggled with all season, so the Red Devils really cannot afford to take Midtjylland lightly.

All advanced statistics and formation data per WhoScored.com except where otherwise stated.