Man Utd face Sevilla in the Champions League on Tuesday night with the tie finely poised following the goalless draw in the first leg in Spain.
Jose Mourinho will undoubtedly be confident in their chances of advancing to the quarter-finals of the competition despite not grabbing an away goal last time out, as they will believe in their quality at Old Trafford to see the job through.
Sevilla are very much in indifferent form, with Vincenzo Montella’s side losing two of their four games since facing United, although they did win the other two against Malaga and Athletic Bilbao.
In turn, it’s difficult to know which side will turn up, but they know that an away goal will completely change the entire tie in their favour and they will be a threat with the likes of Luis Muriel and Joaquin Correa.
As for United’s form, they boast three consecutive wins since that trip to Spain, seeing off Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Liverpool which will have undoubtedly boosted morale and confidence within the group.
Team news
Mourinho remained non-committal on whether or not Paul Pogba would return for this game, as the Frenchman missed out against Liverpool after suffering an injury in training on Friday.
As per the club’s official site, the Portuguese tactician is unsure on Pogba’s availability as he did join in with training this week, but there was better news on Anthony Martial as he’s back in the mix.
As seen in the XI put forward below by The Times, Pogba isn’t expected to feature in the starting line-up,, with Scott McTominay likely to get another chance to impress in a big game alongside Nemanja Matic.
Probable line-ups
Image courtesy of The Times.
The noticeable absentee here is of course Pogba, and although he has had his troubles with form this season, there is no denying that he is an important player capable of big moments. Especially in games like these, Mourinho would be desperate to have him available.
In his absence, McTominay and Matic will have to win the midfield battle against Ever Banega and Stephen N’Zonzi, as it could be crucial to getting a foothold in the game.
Prediction
Given their recent form and how they’ve delivered in big games against Chelsea and Liverpool, United will be highly fancied by many to get the job done on Tuesday night and progress to the next stage of the Champions League.
There could be some scary moments as Sevilla proved in the first leg that they can be a threat, but until they find that clinical edge in front of goal, it will be a struggle for them.
The pace, quality and goalscoring threat offered by the likes of Marcus Rashford, Alexis Sanchez and Jesse Lingard could be a problem to support Romelu Lukaku’s presence up top, and so we’re backing a 2-0 United win.