Manchester United can strengthen their position in Europa League Group E by picking up another three points when they travel to face Cypriot outfit Omonia Nicosia on Thursday.
The Red Devils got their continental campaign back on track with a 2-0 victory over FC Sheriff Tiraspol last time out, following a 1-0 defeat by Real Sociedad in their opening game. This midweek, they take on Omonia, who sit bottom of the group after two defeats.
Here is all you need to know about United’s opponents, including who they are, where they play and what threats they will pose to Erik ten Hag’s side when they meet in Nicosia.
Who are Omonia FC?
Omonia are based in the capital city of Nicosia and compete in the Cypriot First Division - the top tier of the island nation's football league system.
The club was only founded in 1948 but they have enjoyed a highly-successful existence, winning 21 league titles over the past 74 years as well as 15 Cypriot Cups and 17 Cypriot Super Cups, although they have not won all three in the same year since 1983.
The club play their home fixtures at the 22,859-capacity GSP Stadium in Strovolos, which is the largest stadium in Cyprus. Omonia shares this stadium with fellow Nicosia-based clubs APOEL and Olympiakos, while it is the home stadium of the Cyprus national team.
Recent history
Despite being one of Cyprus’ most successful football clubs, Omonia have won just three trophies in the last 10 years. They ended their 11-year wait for a league title during the 2020/21 campaign and followed that up by winning the 2021 Super Cup on penalties.
That league title earned them a place in the Champions League second qualifying round in 2021/22, where they lost 3-0 on aggregate to Dinamo Zagreb, before eventually ending up in the group stage of the inaugural Europa Conference League. However, they were knocked out after finishing third in Group H following four draws and two defeats from six games.
Their league form dropped dramatically last season and the reigning champions finished in seventh, in the bottom half. However, after making it through three rounds of the Cypriot Cup, they then defeated Ethnikos Achna 5-4 on penalties in the final to win the trophy for the first time since 2012.
Current campaign
Omonia have played just five games of the 2022/23 Cypriot First Division campaign but are fourth following three wins and two defeats, beating Doxa 2-0 away in their most recent result on Saturday, while they have won both of their home fixtures.
Their Cypriot Cup victory last season earned them a place in the 2022 Cypriot Super Cup in August - where they lost 2-0 to 10-man league champions Apollon Limassol - as well as a spot in the Europa League play-off round against Belgian outfit Gent.
They reached the group stage with a shock 4-0 aggregate victory over the Belgian side, although they have since lost both of their Group E games against Sheriff Tiraspol (3-0) and Real Sociedad (2-1) to sit bottom without a point.
Ones to watch
Omonia are managed by former Leicester and Celtic player Neil Lennon, who also had two spells as manager at the latter. The Northern Irishman was appointed in March on a two-and-a-half year deal, leading the club to their first trophy under his leadership with the Cypriot Cup triumph in May.
Ahead of this season, Lennon recruited a number of players who he had previously managed, including former Celtic duo Adam Matthews and Gary Hooper. Also recruited was former Man City youth product Brandon Barker, who played under Lennon at Hibernian and later featured for Rangers.
Elsewhere in the squad is Hungarian international defender Adam Lang, captain and midfielder Ioannis Kousoulos and former Olympiacos winger Bruno Felipe. The Brazilian is the club’s top scorer with four goals this season after moving from group opponents Sheriff.
