The Red Devils will hope to continue their somewhat fairy-tale journey in the Champions League group H when they welcome Bundesliga side RB Leipzig tonight.
Manchester United Team News
Eric Baily and Jesse Lingard remain in doubt for Ole Gunnar Solksjaer while Anthony Martial should be recalled to the starting line-up after missing the game against Chelsea due to suspension.
The midfield debacle of who gets to start will be Ole’s biggest worry. The United boss noted during the press conference earlier that while this is a bit of worry, he’d rather it this way than not having enough players for the positions available.
RB Leipzig Team News
Julian Nagelsmann will be looking to recall much of the same squad who had a comfortable 2-0 win over Istanbul Basaksehir on matchday one.
United target Dayot Upamecano could once again lead the defence tonight while Manchester City loanee Angelino, who scored the two goals last time out may be recalled against familiar opposition.
It won’t be so familiar for the rest of the team however as RB Leipzig and Manchester United have never faced off in a football competition.
Prediction
There are fears that patience will be wearing thin for Donny Van De Beek who has made only a handful of cameos, howbeit impactful appearances since coming to the Old Trafford.
Many predict that the Dutch would get the nod alongside Matic and Mctominay, with Fred and Paul Pogba to likely come off from the bench.
Defensively, United may have just enough to hold Leipzig as Lindelof and Maguire will be confident in themselves after a solid weekend game against Chelsea.
Leipzig will look unto the likes of Youssef Poulsen, Christopher Nkunku and Dani Olmo to lead the attack against United.
Roma Loanee Justin Kluivert should get a chance tonight, Hwang Hee-Chan could play a super-sub role.
The philosophy of both teams seems to be one of counter-attacking football and outscoring opponents. they might have to resort to midfield dominance which should be dictated by United.
Ole Gunnar Solksjaer will do well not to underestimate this German opposition, as Leipzig-who are last season’s semi-finalists- are yet to lose against English Opposition (Leipzig won 4-0 on aggregate against Tottenham in last season’s round of 16).
Ultimately, we expect a number of goals to feature here.
Both teams will fancy getting all maximum points to top the group, especially with French champions PSG still in view. Expect a fully entertaining fixture here with both teams to likely share the spoils.
