Manchester United are coming off a performance that may have been their best of the season up to this point. United went to Chelsea and ended up mere seconds from handing the Blues their first loss of the campaign, in any competition. Now we’ll see if United can carry that positive momentum from the league over to their European competition.
It’s the most anticipated UEFA Champions League group stage game of all for Red Devils supporters- as Cristiano Ronaldo returns to Old Trafford as a member of the opposition, Italian powerhouse Juventus.
The Portugese superstar is reportedly relaxed for this match, despite all that the legal problems he’s facing off the pitch.
Let’s take a look at who CR7 and Juve may face in United’s first team on the pitch at the Theatre of Dreams.
The Sports Bank MUFC Starting XI Prediction
Forwards: Anthony Martial, Romelu Lukaku, Marcus Rashford
Midfielders: Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Fred
Defenders: Luke Shaw, Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling, Ashley Young
Goalkeeper: David de Gea
With his brace/man of the match performance on Saturday, one would think that Martial has a starting XI place assured now.
“I think Martial is like the team,” Mourinho said at his news conference on Monday.
“The team is playing fine, Martial is playing fine. It’s easier for individuals to play well when the team is playing well. He has been involved when the team played well and he played well too… There were contradictory feelings after the Chelsea match. I told the players we have to keep that happiness, pride and confidence of the way we played. But on the other side, use the anger to motivate ourselves to play a big match.”
United’s defense have had issues this season, and stopping last year’s top scorer in the Champions League will no doubt be a tough task, but the back four we listed above is probably Mourinho’s best shot.
United vs Juve FYIs
Romelu Lukaku Press Conference: go to this link
Jose Mourinho Press Conference: go to this link
Injury Report for both clubs: go to this link
Kickoff: Tuesday October 23, 8pm BST, Old Trafford
Match Preview: go to this link
Odds via Odds Checker: United 12/5, Draw 12/5, Juventus 7/5
Prediction: Juventus 1, United 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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