Manchester United Interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is feeling very confident about his UEFA Champions League draw, despite the commonly held belief that his side got the toughest assignment. United will face FC Barcelona, a strong contender to win the competition, in the UCL quarterfinals.
You might recall that the Nou Camp was the location of the dramatic 90′ game winning goal that Solskjaer, nicknamed the “baby faced assassin” in his playing days, scored for United in the 1999 Champions League final triumph over Bayern Munich.
“I’ve had so many texts from friends saying this year is going to be the year that we’ll get through because of my [shirt] number, 20, and it being 20 years ago,” Solskjaer said at a news conference yesterday ahead of United’s FA Cup quarterfinal clash at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“We’re off to the Nou Camp again – it was the biggest night I’ve had in football. Of course, for all of us in that team, it was an unbelievable night. It’s a great stadium.”
Solskjaer’s confidence doesn’t come just from nostalgia or numerology though. It’s rooted in what he’s already seen his team accomplish this season, and thus shown the potential to do on any given night. The thrilling comeback during the away leg of the last round against Paris Saint-Germain is the perfect example of that.
“We’ve shown against PSG that on any given day we can beat a top team,” Solskaer said.
“Then again there’s so many variables and these games will be decided by margins. And of course with [our] VAR [decision], even though for me it’s a penalty, you can still be unlucky and not get it in the last minute. Then we’d be out and no one would really remember the PSG performance.”
“So yes, we can go all the way but you’ve got to be lucky and good along the way. The confidence in the players, it’s sky high. And the mood is good, the training attitude is good, so hopefully we can keep that run going.”
Manchester United at Wolverhampton Wanderers FA Cup Quarterfinal FYIs
Kick-off: Saturday March 16, Molineux, 7:55pm (BST), 2:55pm (CST)
United Injury Report: go to this link
United Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Odds via Ladbrokes: United 5/4, Draw 11/5, Wolves 9/4
Prediction: United 2, Wolves 0
As always, feel free to post your own United starting XI and final score predictions.
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.