Man Utd vs Villarreal: Champions League preview, squad news, stats, kick-off time | Football news

Team news and stats ahead of Man Utd v Villarreal in the Champions League group stage on Wednesday; kick off at 8 p.m.

Team news

Manchester United will be without Harry Maguire against Villarreal, with the defender being ruled out for “a few weeks” due to a calf injury.

The 28-year-old center-back, who did not face the Spanish side in United’s final defeat in the Europa League in May, limped in the second half in Saturday’s 1-0 home loss to Aston Villa in Premier League.

Maguire missed practice Tuesday morning, as did left-back Luke Shaw. Shaw could still feature on Wednesday, but the United Maguire skipper faces a period of inaction.

“Luc was in [on Tuesday], so I’m going to give him a chance to get involved, “United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said.

“Harry is more or less definitely out. It doesn’t look good. So other than that, because of the bruised pride of the result, we should be good to go.

Urged on by Maguire’s situation, Solskjaer said: “It’s his calf. It could take a few weeks, so let’s see how quickly he recovers.”

Marcus Rashford and Amad Diallo trained away from the main squad on Tuesday as they continued their rehabilitation after injury, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka will miss due to suspension after being sent off in his 2-1 loss. team against the Young Boys.

Villarreal will be without two key players for the clash.

Midfielder Francis Coquelin is suspended, while striker Gerard Moreno – who scored in the Gdansk final and scored his penalty in the Spaniards’ spectacular 11-10 shootout victory – is injured.

Solskjaer embraces the pressure: “I’m here to win”

Solskjaer reiterated his determination to bring the silverware back to Manchester United ahead of the game.

United finished second in the Premier League last season and reached the Europa League final, purely for their attempt to win a first trophy under Solskjaer to end in a stinging loss on penalties to Villarreal.

Four months later, the clubs face off in the Champions League group stage as United look to bounce back from three losses in four matches in all competitions.

The series of results led to renewed scrutiny and Solskjaer said: “It’s still not a game to be won, but it is definitely a very important game.

“Like I said after Young Boys, home games if you get three wins and one away game then you should qualify, or you will qualify.

“The focus is on three points. We looked at Villarreal again, watching the final, what we can do best, what worked and what was good in this game and we will get a good response from going on. of the weekend, of course. “

Focus on the opposition: will United have learned?

Four months after beating Manchester United on penalties in the Europa League final in Gdansk to give boss Unai Emery a fourth triumph in that competition, the Yellow Submarine meet the Red Devils again at Old Trafford.

Villarreal started their Group F games with a 2-2 home draw with Atalanta and are 11th in La Liga with eight points in six games, having won one and drawn the other five.

Solskjaer says he studied the May reunion again, but will he be able to avoid a repeat of a game in which key players were frustrated?

The Norwegian had prepared his side to play on the front foot, sacrificing Fred in order to accommodate an additional striker with Paul Pogba returning to midfield, but the Frenchman offered little of a central position in terms of creativity.

Bruno Fernandes was also stifled in Poland, failing to register a shot on target or create a single chance in 120 minutes, while Edinson Cavani had fewer touches than any outfield player in the field. first half of the match.

In addition to a surprising lack of offensive cohesion, defensive weaknesses were also evident – and Maguire is of course still absent. A series of Dani Parejo’s first corners caused problems and a free kick ultimately caused damage, with Moreno making a meteoric run inside Victor Lindelof.

Moreno is out this time around but United will certainly have to better defend Parejo’s dangerous deliveries.

How to follow

Follow live updates on the Sky Sports website and app starting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday; kick off at 8 p.m.

You can also follow updates and reactions on Gillette Soccer Special live on Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Premier League from 7pm.

Opta Statistics

• The five matches in European competition between Manchester United and Villarreal have all ended in draws, including four scoreless, with the exception of last season’s UEFA Europa League final (1-1), which the Spaniards won 11-10 on penalties.
• The four UEFA Champions League clashes between Manchester United and Villarreal all ended 0-0, making it the most played game in the history of the competition with no goals scored.
• Manchester United are winless in their last seven matches against Spanish sides in the UEFA Champions League (D3 L4), with their last such win against Real Sociedad in October 2013 (1-0).
• Villarreal are unbeaten in their last 16 UEFA European majors (W12 D4) in the Europa League and Champions League, the longest streak of any team today. Espanyol between September 2006 and November 2019 (20 in a row) are the only Spanish side to have had a longest undefeated streak in UEFA’s European history.
• Manchester United have lost UEFA Champions League MD1 this season to Young Boys – they have never lost their first two games in a major European campaign in their history.
• If he plays in this match, it will be Cristiano Ronaldo’s first UEFA Champions League game at Old Trafford for Manchester United since April 2009 (1-0 against Arsenal). The Portuguese has been directly involved in 12 goals in his last 15 home games in his first stint for the Red Devils in the competition, scoring seven goals and providing five assists.
• Cristiano Ronaldo will break Iker Casillas’ record for UEFA Champions League appearances if he appears in this match, setting a new record of 178 appearances. However, Ronaldo has never scored against Villarreal in four previous appearances against them in the competition, only facing Lille and Benfica as often without finding the net (also four games against them).