The latest reports suggest that Solskjaer will be handed the job on a permanent basis, but if there is any remaining doubt in the board’s mind then progress into the quarter-finals of the Champions League at the expense of PSG would surely seal the deal.Manchester United have not reached the quarter-finals of this competition since 2013-14 and crashed out at the hands of Sevilla at this stage last season, where a loss at Old Trafford proved costly.The 2018/19 Champions League knockout round start with a mouthwatering contest in which Manchester United play hosts to Paris Saint-Germain. Both teams are in good run of form and fans and neutrals can expect a classic at Old Trafford this Tuesday.Now the dark days of Mourinho are gone, Manchester United are on fire and come into this contest on the back of a 11-match unbeaten run. There has been a huge improvement to all areas of play and the team look like a heavy weight after bagging 10 wins in the period scoring a mammoth 28 goals.
PSG on the other hand, enjoy a consistent season under Thomas Tuchel and it has been often the case that there are hardly any team to challenge them in France. They sit at the top of Ligue 1 with a 13-point lead over their nearest opponent and are poised to win the league title once again.Tuchel’s men are a free scoring team and bagged an average 3.1 goals per game in their Ligue 1 and 2.8 per game in the Champions League. Yet, I believe Champions League is the real test to PSG and they are often unchallenged in domestic competitions in France.
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Man United lineup:
De Gea; Young, Smalling, Jones, Shaw; Herrera, Matic, Pogba; Lingard, Rashford, Martial
PSG lineup:
Buffon; Kehrer, Silva, Kimpembe, Bernat; Marquinhos, Verratti; Nkunku, Di Maria, Draxler; Mbappe
Manchester United vs PSG: Head-to-head
This will be the first ever competitive meeting between Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain.However, the teams did met in the pre-season friendly tournament in 2015, PSG won 2-0 on that occasion.United are unbeaten in their last 8 matches against French clubs, won 6 in total including all 4 at home and drew the other 2.PSG have an underwhelming record in English soil after managing 1 win from their 10 trips to the country, drew 4 and lost 5.
TEAM NEWS
Cavani is a major doubt and unlikely to recover from a hip injury in time to feature in this match, having been forced off at half time of the weekend win over Bordeaux.Neymar is a longer-term absentee, meaning that Kylian Mbappe will likely be the only member of the usual PSG front three to feature at Old Trafford.
Angel Di Maria could return to his former stomping ground as a result of the injury concerns, with the Argentine having scored three goals in 27 Premier League appearances for United during one unsuccessful season at the club.Thomas Meunier is also sidelined for the visitors, and veteran Dani Alves may be forced to battle for a place at right-back with Thilo Kehrer despite having featured in central midfield lately.Marco Verratti is now fit again and is expected to start after coming through an hour unscathed at the weekend, while Gianluigi Buffon may get the gloves ahead of Alphonse Areola.United, meanwhile, will monitor the fitness of Victor Lindelof after he missed the win over Fulham due to a knock.