Manchester United will be without suspended defender Eric Bailly for their Europa League last-16 first leg tie against FC Rostov in Russia. Bailly was sent off in the previous round against Saint-Etienne, while captain Wayne Rooney and full-back Luke Shaw miss out after being left at home. Midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan could return after a hamstring injury. The Russian side will be without goalkeeper Soslan Dzhanayev but have an otherwise fully fit squad. United face a difficult 2,100 mile trip against a side who after fifth in their domestic league and have lost at home just once in their last seven European games. Rostov go into the match on the back of a superb 6-0 victory at the weekend, while the Red Devils drew 1-1 against 10-man Bournemouth.

Manager Jose Mourinho said: "It is a bad draw in every aspect. It is far, it is difficult and comes in a bad period for us. "It is difficult because they are a very difficult team. They had a very good Champions League campaign." The Portuguese boss also criticised the condition of the pitch at the Olimp-2, which has a capacity of 15,000. Rostov supporters have organised a delivery of blankets for visiting United fans ahead of Thursday's match, according to state-owned Russian news channel Rossiya 24. The initiative, which is known as 'Gentle Fan', will see blankets handed out at the visitors' entrance to the ground, to ensure the fans will be warm enough and to also show foreign fans that they are welcome in Russia, the report said. Weather forecasts suggest that this friendly gesture may not be entirely necessary though, with Rostov-na-Donu likely to see temperatures of nine degrees Celsius during the game, compared to seven degrees in Manchester.