The story so far
Manchester United will kick-start a new era when they take to Estadio de la Ceramica for their penultimate game of this season's UEFA Champions League against Villarreal. It has been a challenging 72 hours for the Red Devils who will take on their Spanish competitors without Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in this dugout. The Norwegian coach parted ways with the club after suffering a calamitous 4-1 defeat to Watford in the Premier League this weekend, with his side's poor run continuing. In his stead, Michael Carrick will hope to turn things around for the Old Trafford outfit in the interim despite the magnitude of the challenge he is confronted with.
United approach the game on the back of a 2-2 draw with Atalanta in their last outing in the campaign. A late Cristiano Ronaldo goal, once again, salvaged a point for the Red Devils who were largely dominated in the encounter. Currently, they in second place with seven points from four outings, and are tied atop the table with Villarreal. With all their last three matches in all competitions failing to produce a win, they will be keen to make a difference this time around.
Nevertheless, the Yellow Submarines are equally poised to inflict more misery on the Premier League outfit, especially considering how things ended when the pair last met. Despite taking the lead through Paco Alcacer in the early minutes of the second half, they were stunned by an Alex Telles volley in the 60th minute and a 95th minute strike by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Unai Emery's men have since secured back to back wins over Young Boys and are currently in pole position to advance to the next stage. With two wins and a draw to their name in the last three appearances, the LaLiga club should be able to give the struggling English side a good contest to upset the odds.
Form guide
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Villarreal in the last 10 matches in all competitions: W4 D2 L4
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Manchester United in the last 10 matches in all competitions: W3 D2 L5
Team news
Mason Greenwood came back positive for COVID-19 and will certainly miss Tuesday's game. The French combo of Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane will not play in Spain since they are currently sidelined due to long-term injuries. Edinson Cavani was absent from United's squad against Watford on Saturday and is a doubt for the match against Villarreal, as is Luke Shaw, who seemingly suffered another concussion on Saturday.
For the hosts, star player Gerard Moreno, who scored in the Europa League final against United in May, appears to be out. Their number seven has been out since late October due to a strained hamstring.
Predicted starting XI
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Villarreal: Rulli; Foyth, Albiol, Torres, Pedraza; Parejo, Capoue, Coquelin; Pino, Dia, Danjuma.
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Manchester United: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Bailly, Maguire, Telles; McTominay, Matic; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Ronaldo.
Broadcast information
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
