Villarreal is hosting Manchester United at Estadio de la Ceramica in round 5 of Group F of the UEFA Champions League. And while Villarreal is improving, Manchester United is sinking deeper and deeper. Villarreal is at the top of this group, and they are now in good form. United is in 2nd place, and they are playing well in the Champions League, but I think the events from this past weekend will have an impact on their game.
Villarreal is now on a 3-game streak without a loss, while winning 2 of those 3 games, and more importantly, they have conceded only 1 goal. With 7 points, 9 scored goals, and 5 conceded goals, Villarreal is at the top of this group. In their last Champions League game, Villarreal has beaten Young Boys at home, and with that, they relieved the pressure off of themselves, but there are still two games to be played, and Villarreal has caught a good spell just in time. Danjuma is the leading goalscorer for Villarreal in the Champions League with 2 goals, while Moreno added 2 assists. Villarreal is a good team, and they finally got rid of the injuries that were messing with them, but they need to step up in these last two games and show us what they are made of.
We all know United is a good team, but we also know what happened to United this past weekend in the EPL. United was playing against Watford on the road in the EPL, and they lost this game 4-1, which was the reason for Solskjaer’s termination. I truly believe this was a good thing for Manchester United because they can play so much better, on both ends, but Solskjaer just couldn’t get the best out of his players. As far as the Champions League goes, United is in second place, but they have the same number of points as Villarreal does. The odds are United will qualify for the next stage, if the interim coach can handle the pressure. Ronaldo has scored 5 goals for Manchester United in the Champions League, and he will need to step up once again at the biggest stage of club soccer. United now hasn’t won any of their last 3 games, they have barely created a good chance, but they will need to be at their best in this game otherwise they might find themselves in the Europa League for the second season in a row.
We have seen a lot of draws between these two teams in the past, and I think this one will end the same way. I know Villarreal is in much better form, but United is still a great team, and I don’t think Villarreal has the edge right now. I’m taking the draw.