Manchester United lost their last two matches heading into international break, so upon returning to action against Watford yesterday, it was imperative they flip the script. The Red Devils did indeed win, as hoped, but it was a bit of a rough ride to get there.
“The first 20 minutes we started so slow and sloppy. You could see we have had players out with injuries and, with the international break, not been able to train them,” Solskjaer said at his news conference yesterday.
“It is one of them first games after international break that you know could be a potential banana skin. We came away with a win, that is great, but I think everyone knows we can perform better. Three points, you can’t get more.”
Solskjaer knows that Manchester United have little to no room for error the rest of the way, in what is a fiercely contested battle for UEFA Champions League qualification. They head to Wolverhampton Wanderers Tuesday night, looking to avenge the elimination defeat that they suffered there two weekend ago in the FA Cup competition.
“There are four very good teams are challenging for two places [in the top four]. We are almost in the driving seat. We have given ourselves a good chance,” Solskjaer added.
The Bank Manchester United Starting XI Prediction vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (4-3-3)
Attack: Anthony Martial Jesse Lingard Marcus Rashford
Midfielders: Paul Pogba Nemanja Matic Ander Herrera
Defenders: Luke Shaw Phil Jones Chris Smalling Ashley Young
Goalkeeper: David de Gea
Manchester United at Wolverhampton Wanderers FYIs
Kick-off: Tuesday April 2, Molineux, 7:45pm
United injury report: go to this link
Form Guide: United WLWWD Wolves LDWLW
Google Result Probability: United win 47% Draw 27% Wolves in 26%
Odds via Coral: United 2.00, Draw 3.30, Wolves 3.90
Prediction: United 2, Wolves 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.