Man Utd vs Villarreal LIVE: Stream FREE, score, TV channel as match UNDERWAY – Champions League latest updates
MANCHESTER UNITED are taking on Villarreal in a repeat of last season's Europa League final.
- TV channel: BT Sport 3/BT Sport Ultimate
- Live stream FREE: BT Sport app/ee customers watch free
- Man Utd XI: De Gea, Dalot, Lindelof, Varane, Telles, McTominay, Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Greenwood, Sancho, Ronaldo.
- Villarreal XI: Rulli, Moreno, Albiol, Pau Torres, Foyth, Capoue, Trigueros, Danjuma, Pino, Parejo, Alcacer.
Follow ALL the latest with our live blog below...
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MANCHESTER UNITED 0-0 VILLARREAL
1. We’re off and under way on a crucial night for Manchester United under the lights. It’s the first European night with a crowd at Old Trafford for 18 months and the fans are making themselves heard. It’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s 178th appearance in the competition tonight, breaking the record held by Iker Casillas.
PEEEEEEEEEREEEEEEEEP!
HERE WE GO!HERE COME THE TEAMS!
We'll have the Champions League anthem first. All together now: "LASAAAAAAGNE, DER, DER, DER, DEEEEER".
OGS PRE-MATCH
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been discussing his teamsheet ahead of tonight’s game.
“Alex [Telles] and Diogo [Dalot] have been waiting for their chance and they’ve got it now,” he told BT Sport. “They’ve trained for it and they’re ready. We have Victor Lindelof too.
“Luke Shaw hasn’t trained since Saturday so there was no chance. Let’s see how long it takes.
“Raphael Varane has been impressive since he came here. He’s taken to the group, he’s been authoritative and calm and I’m sure we’ll see that tonight.
“Jadon Sancho has had his chances and we’re building him up. He’s ready.
“Villarreal are technically very good. They’ll build from the back and play out. They’re clever on set-plays.”
.Credit: Getty RASH RETURN CLOSE
Marcus Rashford is hoping to return to contact training next week and could be back in contention for a first-team spot by the middle of October.
The striker missed the start of the season after having shoulder surgery but could be involved in a closed-doors game during the international break.
The 23-year-old posted on social media to say he was hoping to get the go-ahead for training from doctors on Friday.
FANS UNCONVINCED BY OGS
Less than one in four Manchester United fans believe their side will win the Champions League with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as manager.
A survey of 2,000 United supporters was carried out by 888sport, with the Old Trafford faithful unconvinced that Solskjaer can lead them to glory in the European competition.
A mere 17 per cent of fans also believe that United will go on to win their Champions League group.
Another man who splits opinions, Paul Pogba, is only backed by 31 per cent of fans to be the man to help deliver silverware to Old Trafford.
However, 78 per cent of fans believe Cristiano Ronaldo will finish as the top scorer in this year’s Champions League.
More than double the number of fans also want to win the Champions League over the Premier League.
.Credit: EPA VARANE CONFIDENT
Raphael Varane feels Manchester United are in a good place despite losing three of their last four games.
Varane, who has won the Champions League four times, is keen to help United return to winning ways when they face Villarreal tonight.
“There’s a lot of quality in our squad,” the France international said. “We’ve got huge potential, I’m convinced of it.
“We’re working really hard, we’re working well in training. I think we’re improving all the time. Since the start of the season, I think we’re on a positive, upward curve.
“We’ve got to believe in ourselves, be convinced that we can do it. We’ve got to be ambitious, believe in our own potential and then I think you can achieve things when you do that.”
.Credit: EPA GOOD EBENING
Villarreal boss Unai Emery believes Manchester United are the favourites to win at Old Trafford tonight.
Emery’s side have had a mixed start to the season, and he said: “Manchester United are one of the biggest clubs in the world. They’re the favourites for the group.
“For us, playing at Old Trafford is an honour. We want to enjoy the match and compete well. We’ll try and fight to have chances to beat them.
“They’re a team who’ve strengthened well. They were already very good when we faced them, and now they’re even better.
“We will need to compete at our very best if we want to get a positive result. They are the favourites, but we don’t like to conform.”
.Credit: Rex DANJUMA EYES ANOTHER UPSET
Arnaut Danjuma believes Villarreal can produce another upset when they face Manchester United.
Villarreal defeated United on penalties in the Europa League final last May and Danjuma is confident his side can produce the goods again.
The Dutch winger, who has three goals in six appearances since joining the Spanish side from Bournemouth in the summer, told BT Sport: “I’m really confident in our team.
"I’ll back myself and I’ll back my team. We beat them in the Europa League final so I think they might take it a bit personal.
“I’m confident that we’ve done it once, we’ll do it twice."
.Credit: EPA
OGS: PRESSURE NO PROBLEM
After that defeat to Young Boys, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is fully aware of the importance of tonight’s meeting with Villarreal at Old Trafford.
"You need 10 or 12 points to go through," said Solskjaer. "If you have one or zero points from two games, you need four wins.
"It’s a very important game. The focus is on three points.
"The pressure is a privilege. To work in this environment, you have to embrace that pressure.
"We're in a results business. We're here to win. I've been backed and clearly, we've improved, and expectations have improved, with the signings and better performances.
"The progress and the process has worked well. But I'm here to win - don't think twice about that.
"At this club, we have an obligation to win, and we have an obligation to win in a certain style.
"Sometimes that's risky and you lose one or two. Lately we've lost one or two, we changed the team for the Carabao Cup and the consequence is you're out of the cup.
"But we'll get there. Hopefully we'll get there around April or May, challenging for the trophies we'd like to see back at Old Trafford."
.Credit: Getty DEFENSIVE RESHUFFLE
United make four changes to the side that lost to Aston Villa at the weekend, with three of them in defence.
With Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw injured and Aaron Wan-Bissaka suspended, Diogo Dalot, Victor Lindelof and Alex Telles all start.
Further up the pitch, Fred drops to the bench with Jadon Sancho named in the XI.
.Credit: Getty VILLARREAL XI:
13 Rulli; 21 Pino, 4 Torres, 3 Albiol, 18 Moreno; 8 Foyth, 5 Parejo, 6 Capoue; 14 Trigueros, 9 Alcacer, 15 Danjuma
Subs: Asenjo, Gaspar, Iborra, Estupinan, Dia, Pena, Mandi, Gomez, Pedraza, Iosifov, Filip
MANCHESTER UNITED XI:
1 De Gea; 20 Dalot 2 Lindelof, 19 Varane, 27 Telles; 6 Pogba, 39 McTominay; 11 Greenwood, 18 Fernandes, 26 Sancho; 7 Ronaldo
Subs: Heaton, Henderson, Bailly, Fred, Lingard, Mata, Matic, Van de Beek, Cavani, Elanga, Martial
THE TEAMSHEETS ARE IN!
LAST TIME
Villarreal beat Manchester United on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the Europa League final in May.
All four of the previous meetings between the sides ended 0-0.
The Red Devils are winless in their past seven games against Spanish teams in the Champions League (drawn three, lost four).
Their last victory against a Spanish side in this competition came against Real Sociedad back in October 2013 when United won 1-0.
.Credit: Getty
WELCOME TO OLD TRAFFORD
It’s Manchester United v Villarreal in Group of the Champions League.
United lost their first fixture in this year’s competition away to Young Boys. They’ve also lost their last two games in the Carabao Cup and Premier League and need to return to winning ways this evening.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka will sit out tonight’s clash. The right-back has been given a two-match ban for his sending off during the loss to Young Boys.
The defender was shown a straight red card for a late tackle in the first half and will miss tonight's Villarreal clash as well as the home match with Atalanta next month.
Manchester United will also be without injured captain Harry Maguire, while Luke Shaw is a doubt. Marcus Rashford is still not ready to return following shoulder surgery.
Villarreal forward Gerard Moreno is set to miss out with a muscle injury, and Francis Coquelin is suspended.
Moi Gomez and Manu Trigeros are in contention to start in place of the French midfielder.
We’ll have team news and much more in the build-up to tonight’s 8pm kick-off, so stay tuned.
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