Manchester United vs Copenhagen

Old Trafford is the venue as Manchester United and Bayern Munich lock horns in a blockbuster Champions League fixture.

Manchester United’s European life is on the line here. Nailed to the bottom of Group A following a dreadful campaign (W1, D1, L3), the ‘Red Devils’ need to beat Bayern Munich against the odds and hope the other group fixture between Copenhagen and Galatasaray ends level to progress into the knockouts. Not even a point here would keep United in European football beyond Christmas. But considering they take the field on the back of a 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth at Old Trafford, the situation is far from promising. Since it was a third identical loss in their last five home games (W2), the pressure cranks up on manager Erik ten Hag only days after being voted the ‘Premier League Manager of the Month.’ Defensive woes have plagued United’s defensive campaign, as they’ve conceded 3+ goals in four of their five Group A outings.

In the meantime, Bayern Munich let complacency get the better of them in an uneventful 0-0 home draw against Copenhagen last time out, arresting their 100% Group A start (W4). Thomas Tuchel’s side suffered another massive upset at the weekend, losing 5-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt in their first Bundesliga defeat of 2023/24! Desperate to bounce back, the ‘Bavarians’ head into proceedings hellbent on protecting their incredible competition-record 39-match unbeaten run in the Champions League group stages (W35, D4). The abovementioned draw halted their 17-game winning streak in such contests, putting them at risk of going back-to-back Champions League group phase games without winning for the first time in 14 years.