Manchester United vs Copenhagen

Old Trafford is the venue as Manchester United and Copenhagen go head-to-head in a must-win Champions League Group A encounter.

It’s a ‘make or break’ contest for out-of-sorts Premier League heavyweights Manchester United after a two-game losing start to their Group A adventure saw them lose track of Bayern Munich and Galatasaray. While no Man Utd fan would hold a 4-3 defeat in Germany on the opening day against under-pressure Erik ten Hag, losing 3-2 to the Turks at home in the previous round cast significant doubt on the Dutchman’s managerial credentials. But the ‘Red Devils’ have since racked up back-to-back 2-1 wins over Brentford and Sheffield United in the EPL, alleviating some pressure on Ten Hag. Man Utd will be out to pay tribute to recently deceased club icon Sir Bobby Charlton by halting a five-match winless run in the Champions League (D2, L3) and maintaining an unbeaten home record against Danish visitors (W3, D1).

On the other hand, despite delivering two impressive performances across the opening two Group A, Copenhagen’s chances of advancing into the Champions League knockouts for the first time since 2010/11 are rather slim. After dropping a 2-0 cushion to draw 2-2 against Galatasaray on day one, Jacob Neestrup’s side relinquished a narrow second-half lead in a 2-1 home loss to Bayern Munich last time out. Those results form part of Copenhagen’s underwhelming eight-match winless run in the Champions League group stages, which dates back to 2016. The reigning Superliga holders have historically struggled against English opponents, managing just one win across their 13 previous H2Hs (D5, L7). Their patchy four-match form in the build-up to this trip (W1, D1, L2) cannot inspire much confidence either.