Manchester United are set to take on Benfica in the UEFA Champions League game on tuesday night, 31st October 2017 at Old Trafford. Having won the opening three games, Manchester United just need 1 point from the remaining three games to ensure their qualification. Jose Mourinho is expected to make several changes in the starting lineup with one eye on Weekend game against Chelsea. The game kicksoff at around 20:45 CET / 19:45 uk time and we will have live links with BT Sports coverage right here on this page.
Match Highlights:
Benfica 1-0 Manchester United Highlights
[ UEFA Champions League 2017-18 Group Stage Match ]
45′ [ Halftime Report ] United dominated the first half and created number of chances but failed to convert their chances for most part. Benfica stood resilient and kept United at bay.
67′ [0 – 1] Marcus Rashford’s direct freekick from long range found its way into the back of the net after young Benfica keeper failed to parry the ball and took it inside the goal.
Manchester United are coming into this game on the back of that 0-0 draw against Liverpool away from home which attracted loads of criticism for Mourinho and his tactics. But Mourinho as usual ignore any calls of attacking football from fans and experts and set to continue what works best for him. Having been unbeaten in all competitions so far this season and already winning both of the champions league games his tactics are seems to be working just fine for United who can put one foot in the knockout stages after several years of European exile.
Team News & Lineups: Benfica on the other hand have lost both of their opening two games and must win this to keep their rather slim hopes of making it to the knockout stages. United will be happy with even a draw which will take their points to 7 in three matches a good return considering every team is capabale of taking points of each other in Group A.
This is how I expect both teams to lineup on Wednesday night, United are set to keep De Gea for this clash while Herrera and Matic to start in midfield while Rashford might be prefered over Martial in attack and Juan Mata to start in central no.10 role behind Lukaku.
Match Predictions: United might not play the beautiful football like some of their rivals but they are very efficient and effective as they results show so far this season. They have only conceded 2 goals in premier league and 1 in Champions League. Its hard to see Benfica doing any damage to consistant United side who have the squad depth to cope with several long term injuries. Im going with a United win in this one with Lukaku to get back on the scoresheet while Rashford and Martial to have a blinder.