Man United were handed a particularly tough group with the inclusion of PSG and RB Leipzig, but it looked like they were well on their way to qualification after winning their opening two games.
It meant taking six points from Basaksehir would all but confirm qualification after four games, but that loss in Turkey could still come back to bite them.
A loss tonight will result in a three way tie for first place with only a trip to Leipzig to go, while you can never trust this United team to get a result so they need to avoid that situation.
READ MORE: Photo: Donny van de Beek shows off a nasty looking ankle injury after Man United’s victory over Southampton
A win tonight would confirm qualification and their 5-0 win over Leipzig would pretty much ensure they finish in top spot and take the seeded draw in the next round, so here’s how they line up this evening:
? Ole’s Reds line up like this ? #MUFC #UCL
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 2, 2020
The big takeaway from that line-up is the absence of Donny van de Beek who continues to struggle to hold down a regular starting spot, while plenty of fans are annoyed at the decision to leave him out.
Why on earth would you bench Donny after how he played against Southampton?
— Jordan Clarke (@FourFourJordan) December 2, 2020
How is van de beek not in the starting 11
— Matthew ? (@matthewxsutton) December 2, 2020
kidding? ARE YOU KIDDING? Greenwood and van de beek bench, pls dont do that
— Bruno.redevils (@Bruno82892435) December 2, 2020
Think his playing McTominay at cent back and but not happy about no starting van de beek hope come on in the second half
— danishx21 (@danishx21) December 2, 2020
Why is Van de Beek benched again? https://t.co/7vJtMKCUFl
— Veks Carter (@Veks29) December 2, 2020
Van de beek dropped pic.twitter.com/t5Hu21hwkQ
— Nathanael (@Nathanael8420) December 2, 2020
It should be noted that the Dutchman took to social media to show off a nasty swollen ankle after the Southampton victory so he might still be struggling, but if he’s fit enough for the bench then he should be fine to start.
It looks like Solskjaer has opted for a more defensive approach due to the attacking strength of PSG, so it will be interesting to see if that decision pays off.
WTAF is Martial doing in the s t a r t i n g l i n e – u p with Greenwood and VdB one the bench ???
When is that clown Woodward going to realise that Solskjaer is out of his depth? Any other manager would have taken Fred off at halftime or maybe before. He was a red card waiting to happen. Leaving vdbeek out, another poor decision by the manager. Taking Rashfor off instead of Marial? Disastrous.
Solskjaer is the problem we are having as a team. How will Solskjaer be using Marthia who will hardly score a goal out of every five chances created for him?
A team that has matic on the substitute list, after Fred got a yellow card in the first half, you waited until he was red carded at 70th minute before you made a sub. What a clueless coach we have as united manager. The way I saw the match is that Solakjaer has come for draw, that was why he the beaten of his life.