Stretford End: United And You

Preview: Manchester United Vs FC Copenhagen

10/08/2020

The Red Devils march on to the quarter-finals tonight where they face Copenhagen at the RheinEnergieStadion in Germany. The last time Manchester United reached this stage, they went on to win the Europa League in 2017 back when Jose Mourinho was in charge.

Manchester United will continue their campaign without Phil Jones, Luke Shaw and Axel Tuanzebe. They’re expected to return to training in September.

My predicted line-up (4-3-3): Sergio Romero should start in goal and I think Ole might only opt to pick the De Gea if we reach the final. Brandon Williams will start at left-back. The 19 year old stated that he’d play anywhere the manager to asked to him to and he would put on a shift. Our centre-backs could be Harry Maguire and Eric Bailly. I don’t think United should go all out for the game and rest Lindelöf. Aaron Wan-Bissaka could continue at right back after being rested in the round of 16.

Bruno Fernandes, Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba make up my midfield three. Again like Lindelöf, resting Matic will be absolutely crucial. The Serbian doesn’t have the legs anymore to put on strong performances game after game.

In attack we could see Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood. Anthony Martial has been in fine form and the Frenchman scored United’s winner against LASK.

This fixture won’t be as easy as it sounds as FC Copenhagen have played some pretty good football. The last time United it was in the Champions League group stage where United won 3-0 at Old Trafford and lost 1-0 at Copenhagen.

The Danish club have already beat Scottish (Celtic) and Turkish (Istanbul Basaksehir) Champions in their previous games. This is the first time that they’ve ever reached the quarter-finals of a European tournament though.

In-form Anthony Martial could be United’s star-man for tonight. The French forward promised Solskjaer a goal when he was on the bench Vs LASK and did exactly that when he came on. Bruno Fernandes will be another danger-man after getting sufficient rest.

Bits from Solskjaer’s Press Conference:
- Is it a bit strange to play big games without the fans? It is strange and it is not football is it should be. I think it has changed a little bit, that little bit of passion and the edge to the game is missing because the fans they’ve got to be there but I have to commend our players. They have handled the situation really well and I know our fans cannot wait to get back to Old Trafford and support us. We just have to try to make the most of the Europa League now and hopefully get as far as we can so that they can be looking more forward to the players.
- Paul Pogba: We’re delighted that he’s back playing, he’s fit, and he’s enjoying his football. Of course he’s got to make up for lost time and he’s trying to do that and he’s training extra. He’s always a great personality in and around the place and hopefully we can see him lift this trophy that he’s done before. He’s professional, a fantastic boy and I’m delighted that we’ve got him in the team.
- Difficulty in choosing Romero or De Gea for the rest of the tournament: I think I must be the most priviledged manager in the world with the goalkeeper department we’ve got, with Sergio, David and Dean Henderson as well coming back. So we’ve got three there, top! Top! Keepers. This season has shown again how important Sergio has been to us and for me also, David has been always been performing. We’ll see what we do for the rest of the season and going forward. Difficult? Of course it is but it’s a nice problem to have.
- Anthony Martial: Anthony’s made huge strides this season in many aspects of his game. I like him scoring, being in between the posts, scoring what we call it the simple goals because we know he can do the worldies, he’s done it a few times and he’s in the gym a lot. He’s working on his fitness and strength with the fitness staff; they’ve done a fantastic job with him. He’s physically as his best level I think in his career and I’m just looking forward to seeing him improve even more. There’s more to come from Anthony definitely.
- Whether Ole is surprised to see Copenhagen this far in the tournament and whether he’s identified any strengths: I’m not surprised at all, I know how Stroller has built the club and what they’re about. I’ve played against them while at Molde, I’ve known Stroller for such a long time and Copenhagen’s had a great history in getting into Europe and doing well. I think Stroller’s team; they’ve got individual players there, young forwards and experienced players in the midfield and the back but the biggest strength I think is the team work and how well-organized Stroller’s teams always are.
- Creating a competitive atmosphere in the team: Competition for places is important and we’re looking to have competition for places that we have Dean, Sergio and David at the moment in the ranks. Lee of course, a fantastic professional as he is, is backing them up. It’ll be difficult obviously to keep the three at the club so we’ll see what the decision will be. Forward positions, scoring goals is always good for strikers. Seeing others scoring goals, it gives you a little bit of an edge that you don’t want to be behind them but you also play for the team. The three of them have been backing each other up and for me I hope they will develop and continue their development because for me that’s exciting times for United in the next few years.
- Has qualifying for the CL taken the pressure of going into the tournament: I don’t think so because we went into this season knowing that Europa League is a great chance for us, one, to get a trophy, to get far in a tournament but also to groom a few of the youngsters. It was perfect for us I think if we’d been in the Champions League this season of course we all want to be in the Champions League but I probably or maybe wouldn’t have had the chance to play the likes of Brandon, Mason as much as we have.
- Only lost one of the last 23 games, how has the team changed? We have developed through the season. We’ve had a squad that’s been working together and of course there were a few changes in the January window that made us even stronger but also the teamwork that we’ve done, the principles that we’re getting more and more in the group and it’s more and more natural. We’ve found good form, good players, players back from injury and one I 23 is one too many.