As Manchester United take on Sport Lisboa e Benfica, commonly known as Benfica, tomorrow night in UEFA Champions League group play, one of the primary narratives is Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho and his homecoming. Today in Lisbon, Portugal, the native son was back in his homeland giving a news conference ahead of the match tomorrow.
His homecoming was one of many topics covered in this session, but not much injury or fitness news was revealed.
Marcos Rojo and Luke Shaw will be a part of the team that will face the Primeira Liga (the top flight of Portuguese football) side at the Estádio da Luz. However, it’s doubtful that either one will start, and it remains to be seen if either of the two duo will feature, but Shaw is more likely than Rojo.
Here’s a link to much more on their siuation.
Go here for the link to the MUFC injury report
Here’s video of the full press conference below via YouTube, the most animated portions of the session come when Mourinho’s recent comments about not envisioning himself staying at United until the end of his career/looking at managing Paris Saint-Germain one day come up.
The exchange about Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren accusing United striker Romelu Lukaku of deliberately trying to hurt him was entertaining too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0dnry7fDbI&t=312s
For the MUFC Starting XI Prediction go to this link
Odds:
Man United have much more favorable backing as away favorites going to Benfica. The best odds on a United win are 17/20, while Benfica are 4/1. United have had an overwhelming percentage of bets with these odds, as 71.4% of punters have wagered on a United win.
A host of United’s attacking options top the market for first goalscorer, with Romelu Lukaku at 3/1, Marcus Rashford at 11/2 and Anthony Martial at 6/1 all viable options.
Prediction: United 3, Benfica 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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