Istanbul not Constantinople, now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople, why Constantinople got the works…” Sorry, I had to. Yes, it was obvious and cliche, and our sincerest apologies to They Might Be Giants, so we’ll just get to the preview and lineup prediction.
Manchester United had a chance to grab their UEFA Champions League group by the throat last time out, at Istanbul Basaksehir, but flopped badly. Meeting again 20 days after the first time Turkish Super Lig champions triumphed over the English giants at home, it’s safe to say that United have had their wakeup call now.
Manchester United vs Istanbul Basaksehir FYIs
Kickoff: November 24, 8pm GMT, Old Trafford
United Starting XI Prediction: go here
Group standings: United 1st, 6 pts, +5 GD Istanbul 4th, 3 pts, -3 GD
Form Guide (all competitions) United DWLLWW Istanbul LWWWLL
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would not give away the store on who is starting, but most pundits seem to think we’ll see Dean Henderson come in for David de Gea in between the sticks.
“I’ve been very happy with the competition that Dean has provided for David,” OGS said.
“Dean hasn’t put a foot wrong. He’s developing and maturing but I’m not going to give you the team now or tell you who is playing.”
Elsewhere as Victor Lindelof fights chronic back issues and is coming off a 90 minutes workload, it seems like this shapes up to be an Axel Tuanzebe game. Further up the field, could we finally see Edinson Cavani make his first start in a red shirt?
Wednesday night time could be the right time for that. United finally got their first home league win of the season on Saturday. Let’s see if they can finally achieve back to back wins at Old Trafford in 20/21 here.
Manchester United Starting XI Prediction vs Istanbul Basaksehir
Henderson; Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Tuanzebe, Telles; Fred, Van de Beek, Fernandes; Rashford, Greenwood, Cavani
Prediction: United 2, Istanbul 0
If United can’t take all three points here, where they have all the motivation in the world to do so, then check your temperature gauges because the fire is out. And if that proves to be the case, then it really should be Ole Out as well.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.