Match preview: Basel v United




Setting the scene… Manchester United returned from the international break in fine style, with a 4-1 win over Rafa Benitez's Newcastle United. Despite going behind inside 15 minutes, the Reds rallied back with goals from Anthony Martial and Chris Smalling before the break. Paul Pogba, returning from injury, and Romelu Lukaku added to goals in the second half, to complete the rout.



 Jose Mourinho's men now head to Basel having won all four of the Champions League fixtures this season, meaning qualification for the knock-out stages can be sealed with a point at St. Jakob-Park, or if CSKA Moscow fail to beat Benfica, in Group A's other game.

How can I watch it? Wednesday’s match kicks off at 19:45 GMT and will be broadcast live on
BT Sport in the UK. MUTV subscribers on Sky or Virgin Media, the MUTV app or at mutv.com will be able to follow all the build-up to the game from 17:45 GMT on the Match Day show and listen to live radio commentary of the game, before watching it in full from midnight. You can also follow the game as it happens via ManUtd.com’s live match blog and by following our official Twitter account
@ManUtd .

What’s the team news? Saturday’s match against Newcastle saw the welcome return of Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcus Rojo to the matchday squad. Pogba made the starting XI after missing 12 games with a hamstring injury, while Ibrahimovic entered the fray with 15 minutes left to play, marking his first appearance since sustaining serious knee ligament damage in April, and Rojo was an unused substitute. Eric Bailly, Michael Carrick and Phil Jones could miss Wednesday’s fixture after injury forced all three to sit out the Newcastle match and the trio did not trainahead of the flight to Basel. The boss will provide more updates in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday at 17:00 GMT.

How are FC Basel doing? The Swiss outfit currently sit in second place in Group A with six points from their opening four games, and will be hoping to reach the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time in three seasons. Meanwhile, Raphael Wicky’s side lie second in the Swiss Super League, six points behind leaders BSC Young Boys, and they head into Wednesday’s fixture on the back of a dominant 5-1 victory over bottom side Sion.

Have we faced FC Basel before? Yes, we have met on five previous occasions, all of which were in the Champions League group stages. The last time we made the visit to St. Jakob-Park was in 2011, which ended in a 2-1 defeat for United. However, the most recent encounter was at Old Trafford back in September, and then, goals from Marouane Fellaini, Marcus Rashford and Lukaku handed the Reds a comprehensive 3-0 win.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Four Manchester United players nominated for player of the month for September

Image
It was a close-run thing, but we can confirm four nominees for September's Player-of-the Month award at Manchester United. After a fabulous spell, it was too difficult to whittle the shortlist down to our usual three names so Marouane Fellaini, Romelu Lukaku, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford all make the cut. Phil Jones, Nemanja Matic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan also picked up votes. Read our summary of each of their performances before casting your own vote via our Official Twitter  account... Marouane Fellaini - Appearances/Goals: 3 (1) / 3 The big Belgian missed the only game where United have dropped points this term, at Stoke City, due to injury, but came off the bench to good effect by scoring in the Champions League opener with Basel.
Read more

Manchester United 4 Newcastle United 1

Image
Premier League | 18 November 2017 | Old Trafford | Attendance: 75,035 | Scorers: Martial 37, Smalling 45+1, Pogba 54, Lukaku 70; Gayle 14. The returning Paul Pogba inspired Manchester United with a goal and an assist as the Reds came from behind to beat Newcastle United 4-1 under the bright lights of Old Trafford.
Read more

Jose: Fellaini was amazing

Image
Jose Mourinho heaped praise on the "amazing" Marouane Fellaini for his determination and courage to play for Manchester United in Sunday's big match at Chelsea, despite not being fully fit. The midfielder had not featured for the Reds since the victory over Crystal Palace at the end of September, after picking up an injury while on international duty for Belgium. Mourinho revealed that Fellaini only returned to full training on Saturday and was named on the bench for Sunday's defeat at Chelsea. With United trailing at Stamford Bridge, the Belgian was introduced just after the hour-mark and he almost snatched a late leveller for the Reds when his shot was brilliantly saved by his international team-mate Thibaut Courtois.
Read more