Manchester United host Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie on Tuesday.
The Red Devils head into the game on an 11-game unbeaten run under their caretaker boss, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, while PSG are the runaway leaders once again in the French Ligue 1.
The Parisians, however, are crippled with injuries to key players, with Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Thomas Meunier all missing out on the tie at Old Trafford.
Read on for Man Utd vs PSG team news, predictions, stats and TV channel info.
When is Man Utd v PSG?
Competition: Champions League
Venue: Old Trafford
Date: Tuesday, 12 February
Kick-off: 8:00 PM GMT
Match preview
For Man Utd, this fixture couldn’t have come at a better time; PSG are without two of their famous front three, Belgian right-back Thomas Meunier is also out through injury and the Parisians have taken just three points from their last two Ligue 1 matches, only managing one goal in each.
The Red Devils, meanwhile, are on an 11-game unbeaten run under the guidance of caretaker boss, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, after easing past Fulham 3-0 and have already scored 23 Premier League goals (2.55 per game) since his appointment, compared to just 29 (1.70 per game) at the start of the season under Jose Mourinho.
When the draw was initially made, many United fans would have been fearing the worst with this one, but the likes of Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Victor Lindelof look like players reborn under Solskjaer and will have absolutely no fear of the opposition heading into this tie.
That sense of confidence will only be heightened with the fact that Neymar and Cavani’s absence means PSG are without two players who have scored a combined 42 goals so far this season.
This by means makes it an easy game for Solskjaer’s side, but they will never get a great chance to bypass the French giants than this one.
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Where can I watch live?
UK residents can watch Man Utd vs PSG live on BT Sport 2, channel 414 for Sky TV customers and channel 528 for Virgin Media users.
How big are the losses of Neymar and Cavani?
The injuries to Neymar and Edinson Cavani surely gives United a surprise edge going into this round-of-16 clash, with the pair responsible for seven of PSG’s 17 goals during the group stages and netting a combined 42 goals so far this season.
French star Kylian Mbappe remains a considerable threat to the Red Devils, while the likes of Angel Di Maria and Julian Draxler cannot be underestimated, but losing two of the most prolific forwards in world football is bound to take its toll on Thomas Tuche’s side and totally change their tactical approach to the game.
Can Solskjaer transfer United’s domestic rejuvenation to Europe?
With 10 wins and one draw from his opening 11 games, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been nothing short of a revelation in the Old Trafford dugout, with calls for him to be appointed on a permanent basis gaining volume.
Solskjaer does have managerial history in Europe, impressively guiding Molde to the top of a Europa League group containing Ajax, Fenerbahce and Celtic in 2014 and only losing out 3-1 on aggregate to Sevilla in the knockout rounds, winning the home leg 1-0.
A Champions League tie with Manchester United, however, is a totally new level of pressure. The Norwegian will have to tap into that magic touch of 1999 to mark his name on club football’s elite competition as a manager.
Is Rashford finally catching up to Mbappe?
With both players making their first-team breakthrough at a similar time and just 14 months separating their age, many comparisons between Marcus Rashford and Kylian Mbappe have been made.
Unfortunately for Rashford, the last few years have been a bit of a mismatch, with his French counterpart outscoring him 74-42 at club level. Mbappe also has 10 international goals to Rashford’s six and was one of the stars of the 2018 World Cup, firing France to the Jules Rimet trophy.
Rashford, however, has looked like a completely different animal under Solskjaer, scoring six goals in eight games during his tenure so far.
And the 21-year-old’s teammates have been taking note of this upturn in form, with Jesse Lingard even backing him to exceed Mbappe in the upcoming clash.
“Man like, Rashy,” Lingard responded when asked by Squawka which of the two he prefers.
“They’re both so young and they’re both achieving so much at the moment. It will be a good battle which I’m looking forward to.”
Head-to-head
Surprisingly, this is the first time Man Utd have faced PSG in a competitive match.
The last time the two sides met was in the International Champions Cup pre-season tournament in 2015, with goals from Blaise Matuidi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic sealing a 2-0 win for PSG.
Team news
Solskjaer’s only injury concern right now is that of Argentine defender, Marcos Rojo, meaning the Norwegian can field his strongest starting XI.
The same, however, cannot be said of PSG, who are without star forwards Neymar (metatarsal) and Cavani, with the latter being forced off with a thigh problem during the recent win over Bordeaux.
Belgian right-back, Thomas Meunier, also came off in the same game after a clash of heads and is expected to miss out, while veteran midfielder Lassana Diarra is a long-term absentee with a knee problem.
Tuchel will, however, be able to call upon Italian midfielder Marco Verratti, who played 59 minutes against Bordeaux before being replaced by new signing, Leandro Paredes.
Man Utd predicted XI: De Gea, Young, Lindelof, Jones, Shaw, Herrera, Matic, Pogba, Lingard, Rashford, Martial.
PSG predicted XI: Buffon, Kehrer, Kimpembe, Silva, Bernat, Alves, Marquinhos, Verratti, Draxler, Mbappe, Di Maria.
Squawka prediction
Man Utd are looking red hot right now and with PSG’s injury crisis, there will never be a better to for Solsjkaer to come up against Tuchel’s side.
While the Red Devils will struggle to shut out Kylian Mbappe for a full 90 minutes, they should take a commanding lead to the French capital for the second leg, with the likes of Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford capable of doing the damage. Man Utd 3-1 PSG.
The post Manchester United vs PSG predictions and match preview appeared first on Squawka News.
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