Confirmed XI: Greenwood and Elanga start against Young Boys; Savage, Hardley, Iqbal and Mengi on the bench

Manchester United face Young Boys at Old Trafford in the final group stage match of the UEFA Champions League this evening, knowing that they have secured the top spot in the group as they have beaten Villarreal twice in the competition this season and the Spanish side can only match the ten points United have amassed in the competition so far this season. If United beat Young Boys, which should happen, they will have 13 points this season. Young Boys only have four points in five matches and three of them came in the opening match when they beat United 2-1. Ralf Rangnick’s United side should be seeking a confidence building session.

United are undefeated since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked by the Old Trafford club. Michael Carrick led United to two wins and one draw and Rangnick has one win in his first match in charge, seeing United beat Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on Sunday. The Old Trafford club have a pretty easy run throughout December and should be challenging those above them, breaking into the top four by the time we reach 2022. That will be the plan that United should have set, seeking to start a title charge under Rangnick with the club expected to learn a lot under his tutelage. Hopefully, Manchester United start to show signs they can compete this season.

Manchester United:

Henderson;

Wan-Bissaka, Bailly, Matic, Shaw;

Lingard, Van de Beek;

Amad, Mata, Elanga;

Greenwood

Substitutes:

Heaton, Kovar; Hardley, Mengi; Iqbal, Savage, Shoretire

Young Boys:

Faivre;

Maceiras, Camara, Lustenberger, Lefort;

Pereira, Aebischer;

Elia, Rieder, Ngamaleu;

Siebatcheu

Substitutes:

Zbinden, L’aidai, Zesiger, Sierro, Kanga, Sulejmani, Jankewitz, Burgy, Maier, Toure, Lauper, Hefti

United and Young Boys have met a total of three times in the UEFA Champions League. United have won two, losing one matches, scoring five goals, conceding two. Both matches were played in the group stages of the competition during the 2018/19 season. United won the first match 3-0 with Paul Pogba scoring a brace and Anthony Martial scoring the other. The match was played at the Stade de Suisse. At Old Trafford, it was a 1-0 victory for United with Marouane Fellaini scoring the only goal of the match. United will be seeking to continue their unbeaten run against the Swiss side. United were beaten 2-1 earlier this season – seeking a win here.

There is no real connection between Manchester United and Young Boys. United have never bought a player from the Swiss club and Young Boys have never bought or loaned a player directly from United. However, a player who has previously played for United has played for Young Boys. Saidy Janko, who was once part of the United academy was loaned to the Swiss side during the 2019/20 season. Janko started life at FC Zurich and was purchased by United in the summer of 2013, playing in the academy. He made one appearance for United’s first team, 28 for the U23s, scoring one goal and six assists and four appearances for the U19s.

Written by John Walker

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I support Manchester United, the greatest English football team to have ever existed. Bruno Fernandes is the latest in a long line of players with great ability to play for the club. I idolised Bryan Robson, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, and Eric Cantona growing up.