Manchester United head into tonight’s UEFA Champions League clash at FC Basel needing just a single point to punch their ticket through to the knockout round. We have all the preview material you need for this clash, with the links to our:
MUFC starting XI prediction, United injury report, as well as video of the Jose Mourinho and Chris Smalling press conferences.
There’s also a lot of Man United news circulating on the internet today, aside from all the material related to the game, so let’s take a spin through some of the other stories.
–In an interview with ESPN FC, Juan Mata articulated what a “big boost” it is to have both Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimvoic back.
“When you play for such a club, the expectation is amazing and you always have to win,” You always have to play good and win, and, at the end of the season, lift trophies,” Mata said.
“The more that we are fit to play the better for everyone. Zlatan and Paul are experienced players, top players and they give us a lot of things on and off the pitch. It’s a big boost for us.
“Zlatan and Marcos have been out for a long time and it’s great to have them back. They trained hard, they fought hard to be back so it’s really positive to see them on the pitch and see them performing well.
“With Paul the same. You know how much he likes football. He hates to be out of the football pitch, so it’s been a great week for us in terms of injured players coming back. It’s a big boost for the whole team and for the mentality of the squad,” Mata added.
This past weekend at home versus Newcastle, Pogba saw his first action since mid-September, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic got his first minutes since April. Pogba was handed the captain’s arm band for tonight’s match.
Finally, 360 Nobs writes that “Ashley Young has extended his contract at Manchester United by an extra year with the club taking the option on his £130,000-a-week deal following his recent fine form.” The source they cite is the Daily Mail.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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