Julen Lopetegui believes the Manchester United side Sevilla will face in the Europa League semi-final is the best Red Devils line-up for a long time.
United and Sevilla meet in Cologne on Sunday for the right to play against either Inter of Shakhtar Donetsk, who square off on Monday, in the final.
Sevilla come into the match on the back of a 19-game unbeaten run, boosted by wins over Roma and Wolves in their past two outings, while United have lost just once since January.
United may have been underwhelming in their 1-0 quarter-final win over Copenhagen, requiring an extra time goal from Bruno Fernandes to emerge victorious, but Lopetegui clearly rates Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men highly.
Sevilla stunned United in the last 16 of the Champions League two years ago when they beat them 2-1 on aggregate, but Lopetegui is certain the Red Devils are much better now.
"This United is the best Manchester United in recent years, a team that has found its way, that's why they haven't lost in the Premier League since January," the former Spain and Real Madrid boss told reporters ahead of the last-four encounter.
"They have found the space for the many quality footballers that they have. They are complete, they will force us to play a great game to compete with them.
"This is what I hope for tomorrow, a semi-final in a game of maximum difficulty and that will require us at all levels to play collectively.
"We like to play beautiful and important matches. For that we have fought and worked all year. It is an important game against a great opponent.
"We will be able to arrive prepared. We will try to overcome them, no matter how big a team they are."
Sevilla, who finished fourth in La Liga this season, are chasing their sixth title in Europe's secondary competition, having won the Europa League three times and its predecessor – the UEFA Cup – twice.
United, meanwhile came in third in the Premier League in 2019-20 and are chasing their first piece of silverware since they won the Europa League and Carabao Cup three years ago.