Manchester United welcome Istanbul Basaksehir to Old Trafford as the return legs of the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League Group Stage commence.
Victory will keep United top of Group H whilst Basaksehir can potentially move off the foot of the table with a win but should PSG defeat RB Leipzig, the maths concerning this group could get complicated with all teams locked on six points apiece with two further rounds remaining.
Team News
Mason Greenwood could return for Man Utd after missing Saturday’s narrow win over West Brom due to fitness issues after a recent bout of illness.
Eric Bailly (unspecified), Jesse Lingard (hip) and Paul Pogba (knock) could also feature but Luke Shaw (hamstring) and Phil Jones (knee) remains absent.
Basaksehir will be without Mert Gunok and Danijel Aleksic after the pair tested positive for Coronavirus in recent weeks.
Junior Caicara (Achilles) and Muhammed Sengezer (shoulder) are ruled out for the Turkish visitors.
Stat Attack
- Man Utd lost their only previous meeting against Istanbul Basaksehir in all competitions, losing 2-1 in Istanbul three weeks ago which marked the first-ever clash between these teams.
- Basaksehir have lost their only previous European away trip against English opposition, losing 1-0 at Burnley in August 2018 to exit 2017-18 Europa League at Third Qualifying Stage.
- United have lost just one of their last five home matches against Turkish opposition, losing 1-0 to Besiktas in November 2009
Prediction
After Saturday’s wasteful performance against West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League, United need to take the positives from their attacking performance and build on that here whilst adding clinical finishing if want to continue their improved form of the last month.
Basaksehir however have the quality to punish any defensive sloppiness from the Red Devils as they showed in the first leg with a ruthless display which will definitely be something which Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs to consider in terms of tactics so am expecting a slightly more defence minded gameplay from Utd here.
Old Trafford however hasn’t been a strong home for Man Utd this season so much of the result could depend on how the hosts perform but with Mason Greenwood and Paul Pogba expected to return on top of their strong home form over Turkish opposition, I am going for a home win here if Utd are clinical.
Prediction: Manchester United 2-1 Istanbul Basaksehir
Result: Manchester United 4-1 Istanbul Basaksehir
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