Three defeats in the last four games, injuries and suspensions in the back four ahead of the crucial Champions League game, opponent which won the last meeting between the clubs…yep, the pressure is definitely on Manchester United and coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. After last year’s premature exit from the Champions League, the Red Devil’s are obliged to advance to the knockout stage, but the group is not an easy one. They are faced with Villarreal, a team which already defeated them last year in UEFA Europa League finals, Atalanta, a strong Italian side who finished ahead of Juventus in Serie A and Young Boys, a Swiss team which defeated United in the first round.Messi’s debut goal for PSG seals the win against Manchester CityA potential defeat against the ‘Yellow submarine’, would mean that their attempt to be better than last year is all but over, and would surely light the ‘red lamp’ at the Old Trafford headquarters. Still, the United coach Ole Gunnar Solskajaer is trying to downplay the significance of this match. Although he said that you only need three wins at home and one away to advance to the knockout stage, Solskjaer still thinks that this game is not a crucial one.”It’s still not a must-win game but it’s a very important game definitely. As I said after Young Boys, home games if you get three wins and you win one away game then you should be through, or you will be through. The focus is on three points. We’ve been looking at Villarreal again, looking at the final, what we can do better, what worked and what was good in that game and we’ll get a good response from the weekend, of course”, said the Norwegian.Villarreal are unbeaten in their last 16 major European games.Beware, Manchester United 👀 pic.twitter.com/uktTQfRhAV— Goal (@goal) September 29, 2021 Midfielder Francis Coquelin is suspended, while striker Gerard Moreno, Villareal’s main goal threat is injured, which makes United’s job a little easier, especially since they have their own problems with injuries in the back four. Captain Harry Maguire is injured and will miss this game, Luke Shaw will probably start, but even that is not 100% sure and Aaron Wan-Bissaka is still suspended after the red card in Young Boys defeat. Solskjaer said that his backroom staff again analyzed the opponent as well as the UEFA Europa League final in order to better prepare for this match. But it’s hardly anything new for the Norwegian, as he still forces a Fred – Mc Tominay duo in midfield, and that is one of the problems for United this season. This partnership has been criticized by many during the last season as well (Roy Keane especially), but what did the Red Devils do in the transfer window?Who will progress from Group F? 🤔#UCL pic.twitter.com/zNZV9SoUvz— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 29, 2021 They simple didn’t address this area at all, but overcrowded the attack with Ronaldo and Sancho. Great signings no doubt, but United scored goals without them too. The problem is still in the midfield, and it was visible during the last week’s loss to Aston Villa. Fred and McTominay’s combined total of 54 successful passes in Saturday’s game, only six went to Bruno Fernandes while only four found their way to Ronaldo. In this game, we will see for the first time the Lindelof-Varane partnership. The Swede was announced as the ‘weakest link’ in defense last season and the Frenchman was brought in, but due to Maguire’s injury, the duo will be responsible for Villarreal’s forwards. In case Shaw doesn’t recover in time, the forgotten Champions League hero from last season Telles, will get a rare chance, while Dalot is likely to replace Wan-Bissaka.Bounce-back clash – Chelsea to heal their City loss, Juve to return to a top-dog formAnd will this be finally the game for Jadon Sancho to show his skills? The highly rated forward was brilliant in Borussia, but he is nowhere to be seen in the Premier League so far, and one of the reasons for this is Cristiano Ronaldo. At Dortmund, the team was set up to play to Jadon’s strengths, At United, the team is set up around Ronaldo, which means Sancho’s opportunities to do what he does best are fewer. So far, he has only directed 15 per cent of his passes forward in the Premier League – a drop from 25 per cent in the Bundesliga last season.This game is also interesting because, apart from last year’s 1-1 draw in the finals, the other four meetings between Manchester United and Villarreal have all ended in goalless draws. Manchester United are winless in their last seven games against Spanish teams in the UEFA Champions League, with their last such victory coming against Real Sociedad back in October 2013.TuesdayAjax – Besiktas (2-0)/Berghuis 17, Haller 43/Shakhtar – Inter (0-0)PSG – Man.City 2-0 (1-0)/Gueye 8, Messi 74/ RB Leipzig – Club Brugge 1-2 (1-2)/Nkunku 5 – Vanaken 22, Rits 41/Milan – Atl.Madrid 1-2 (1-0)/Leao 20 – Griezmann 84, Suarez (p) 90+7/Porto – Liverpool 1-5 (0-2)/Taremi 74 – Salah 18, 60, Mane 45, Firmino 77, 81/Dortmund – Sporting 1-0 (1-0)/Malen 37/Real Madrid – Sheriff Tiraspol 1-2 (0-1)/Benzema 65 – Yakhshiboev 25, Thill 89/Wednesday19.45: (1.50) Atalanta (4.60) Young Boys (7.00)19.45: (1.60) Zenit (4.00) Malmo (6.50)22.00: (1.10) Bayern (13.0) Dynamo Kyiv (25.0)22.00: (2.90) Benfica (3.35) Barcelona (2.60)22.00: (1.55) Man.Utd. (4.30) Villareal (6.75)22.00: (2.05) Salzburg (3.60) Lille (3.80)22.00: (2.95) Wolfsburg (3.20) Sevilla (2.65)22.00: (4.10) Juventus (3.50) Chelsea (2.00)***odds are subject to change***
