Good evening! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for tonight's
Champions League Group H showdown between
Manchester United and
Valencia at Old Trafford!
The hosts are in desperate need of a win here tonight, with everything seemingly going wrong for them at the moment, but Valencia arrive at Old Trafford off the back of their first win of the season and so could be a team on the up now.
We will have a look through everything you need to know about the two teams in a short while, but first let's check out the team news...
MAN UTD STARTING XI: De Gea; Valencia, Smalling, Bailly, Shaw; Fellaini, Matic, Pogba; Rashford, Lukaku, Sanchez
MAN UTD SUBS: Romero, Darmian, Lindelof, Fred, Mata, McTominay, Martial
VALENCIA STARTING XI: Neto; Piccini, Garay, Gabriel, Gaya; Coquelin, Parejo, Kondogbia, Guedes; Rodrigo, Batshuayi
VALENCIA SUBS: Domenech, Vezo, Soler, Gameiro, Cheryshev, Diakhaby, Wass
DTT - Don't Trust Twitter, folks! As if there wasn't enough intrigue surrounding the Manchester United team news, social media was rife with reports that David de Gea had been left out of the United squad for tonight's match, but there he is in the starting lineup.
De Gea's inclusion is one of a number of interesting factors about that starting lineup, including a return to the 4-3-3 system as expected, after another experiment with 3-5-2 backfired against West Ham at the weekend.
The list of players Mourinho is alleged to have fallen out with at United seems to be growing by the day, but the three main ones - Pogba, Sanchez and Valencia - all start tonight, the latter two returning to the side after missing out at the weekend.
Sanchez in particular was a surprise exclusion against the Hammers having travelled to London but then been left out of the matchday squad altogether, and the Chilean will get the chance to renew his search for a first goal of the season tonight.
The man who has dominated all of the headlines alongside Mourinho is Pogba, though, and he starts again tonight despite the ongoing reports that his relationship with the manager is broken beyond repair.
Pogba actually made headlines for the right reason in this competition last month, scoring two and assisting another in a man-of-the-match performance against Young Boys, with his brace in that game being as many as he had scored in his previous 37 Champions League outings combined.
Pogba has now been directly involved in four of United's last six goals in this competition, including all three this season, but he was hooked with 20 minutes remaining at the weekend.
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Marouane Fellaini is once again preferred to Fred in midfield for United tonight, while compatriot Romelu Lukaku once again leads the line as he bids to rediscover his goalscoring touch.
The Belgian had netted seven goals in six matches for club and country before the start of United's Champions League campaign, but he has since failed to score in his last four outings.
In all, United have made four changes from the team beaten by West Ham at the weekend, with
Marcus Rashford among those to be rewarded with a start after he came off the bench to score at the London Stadium.
Valencia, Bailly and Sanchez also come into the team for tonight's match as McTominay, Lindelof, Young and Martial make way. Young is the only one of those players to be absent from the squad entirely, having picked up an injury against the Hammers.
As for Valencia, their headline news is that Jose Gaya starts at left-back having missed out at the weekend due to injury, and there will be a few eager eyes watching him tonight given his past links with Premier League clubs such as Arsenal.
That is one of three changes in defence alone for Los Che, who also welcome Piccini and Garay into the team as Vezo, Diakhaby and Lato drop out.
Gabriel Paulista makes up the back four - a name Arsenal fans will remember well - while Valencia also welcome another Arsenal alumnus into their starting lineup with Francis Coquelin replacing Soler in the team tonight.
It is one of six changes overall from the win over Real Sociedad at the weekend, with Goncalo Guedes also coming into the side in place of Denis Cheryshev and Rodrigo Moreno replacing Gameiro.
Gameiro can perhaps feel hard done by given that he opened his account for the club to give them that victory over Real Sociedad, but he has not exactly been prolific so far this season and Michy Batshuayi - on loan from Chelsea - also has just one league goal to his name so far.
Rodrigo Moreno does have an Old Trafford goal to his name already, though, albeit only in a pre-season match when Valencia lost 2-1 here in August 2014.
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Rodrigo and the rest of his Valencia teammates will arrive at Old Trafford hoping to take advantage of the complete disarray at the club right now, with their well-publicised off-field troubles beginning to manifest themselves on the pitch.
The matter which has been the subject of most debate is the fallout between Mourinho and Pogba, but Mourinho's future has also been increasingly called into question and, as I alluded to earlier, more and more reports of unrest amongst the players keep cropping up.
Defeat tonight would certainly not escape the attention considering it would come in the competition Zinedine Zidane - the man most heavily tipped to replace Mourinho - has won three times in a row, but regardless of the tournament United must first and foremost arrest this wretched run of form.
It has been an utterly miserable 10-day period for the club, drawing at home to newly-promoted Wolves, losing on penalties at home to Championship side Derby County in the EFL Cup and then losing 3-1 to West Ham United at the weekend.
Things actually looked to be heading in the right direction after United's 3-0 win over Young Boys on matchday one of this competition, with that Pogba-inspired result being United's third victory in a row after back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Spurs.
However, a lot more has gone wrong since then and United have now lost as many games as they have won this season, leaving themselves 10th in the Premier League table and already nine points adrift of Manchester City and Liverpool.
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Indeed, this is United's worst start to a league season for 29 years having picked up just 10 points from their opening seven games - a run of form compounded by their exit at the first hurdle of the EFL Cup too.
Even United's home form is woeful, with Old Trafford a shadow of the fortress it used to be at the moment. The Red Devils have not won here since the opening day of the season against Leicester, almost two months ago.
Since that Leicester result, the Old Trafford faithful have watched their side be swept aside by Tottenham, held by Wolves and then beaten on penalties by Derby, leaving them on the brink of going four home games without a win for the first time this century.
Defeat tonight would make it back-to-back home losses for the first time since January 2014, while it would also see them lose successive Champions League games at Old Trafford for the first time since March 2013.
Enough doom and gloom, though - how about reasons for optimism?
Well, it may not feel like it right now but there are plenty of reasons for United fans to feel confident about tonight's game, having lost just one of their last 22 European matches here at Old Trafford - although that did come in their most recent one as they crashed out of this competition to Sevilla last season.
United have also lost just one of their last 18 Champions League group games here at Old Trafford, and have won eight of their last nine such outings with one draw in that time too.
United are no longer the force they were in English football, yet alone European football, but they also have the experience factor tonight having now appeared in the group stages 22 times - fewer than only Real Madrid, Barcelona and Porto.
Last season United won all three of their home group games on their way to topping the section, but then came that defeat to Sevilla in the last 16, when they drew 0-0 in Spain but then lost 2-1 here at Old Trafford.
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Valencia will be hoping to pull off a similar result to that one this evening, but even considering United's troubles at the moment, the visitors still arrive at Old Trafford as the underdogs.
Los Che have had some up-and-down times of their own in recent years, after all, and are returning to the Champions League after a two-year absence this season, during which time they were managed by United legend Gary Neville.
Successive 12th-placed finishes are not what we have come to expect from Valencia over the years, and they seemed to have returned to the norm with a top-four finish last season.
However, they have begun the current campaign very slowly and come into this match just 14th in La Liga, already seven points worse off than they were at the same stage of last season.
Manager
Marcelino will be hoping that his side have finally turned a corner now, though, having picked up an overdue first win of the season on Saturday with a 1-0 triumph over Real Sociedad.
Valencia had begun the campaign with a seven-match winless streak before that, including five draws from their opening six La Liga outings. Victories have been hard to come by, then, but they have also established themselves as a difficult team to beat.
That said, Juventus managed it with just 10 men on matchday one of this season's competition, and Valencia will still be kicking themselves at squandering such a good chance to beat the group favourites.
Juve had 10 men for more than an hour - and it was their best player Cristiano Ronaldo who was sent off too - but despite Valencia being at home they conceded two penalties and missed one of their own to lose 2-0, leaving them third in the group as things stand.
Valencia have now lost each of their last four Champions League outings, which is already their worst ever run in the competition, and another defeat tonight would see them become only the third Spanish club to lose five Champions League games on the bounce - after Real Sociedad and Villarreal.
Los Che have, however, won three of their last seven Champions League away games including qualifiers, which is a very respectable record in this competition.
Marcelino would no doubt take a draw in this game if it was offered to him now, but just one of their last 17 Champions League group games has ended all square - a 1-1 stalemate with Bayern Munich in November 2012.
If Valencia are to get a draw or better tonight then they will likely need to improve their attacking form too, having scored just two goals in their last five outings across all competitions.
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Valencia did not take part in any European competition is either of the past two seasons, most recently dropping from the Champions League to the Europa League in 2015-16 before going out to Athletic Bilbao in the last 16.
This is their 11th Champions League group stage campaign in general, and they reached the final in back-to-back years in 1999-2000 and 2000-01. However, they have not made it past the group stages since 2012-13.
PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at Old Trafford, which means that it is time for a prediction!
United have the quality and the home advantage to win this game relatively comfortably, but there is such a cloud hanging over the club at the moment that nothing can be taken for granted. It is unlikely that all the problems will suddenly be solved tonight, so I am going to go for a score draw.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Man Utd 1-1 Valencia
These two sides have met on eight previous occasions, and United have only lost one of those - way back in 1982 when Valencia ran out 2-1 winners at the Mestalla in the first round of the UEFA Cup.
United have never been beaten by Valencia in the Champions League, then, although four of their six meetings in this competition have ended as draws.
Indeed, five of the eight past meetings - and four of the last five - have ended all square between these two, including the most recent one, which came here at Old Trafford in December 2010.
Pablo Hernandez gave Valencia the lead on that occasion before Anderson levelled things up for United, who were on their way to a third Champions League final in the space of four years. How times change!
United have not faced any other team without losing more often in the Champions League, with Valencia currently sitting level on six games with Bayer Leverkusen and CSKA Moscow. However, the Red Devils have won just two of their last 13 matches against Spanish opposition, with six defeats in that time too.
Valencia, meanwhile, have only won once in 10 Champions League visits to England - a 1-0 win over Liverpool in October 2002 - and have won just three of 17 away games against Premier League opposition in all European competitions, although that does include their last two courtesy of wins over Swansea and Stoke.
We will have to wait a little bit longer for kickoff tonight...
UPDATE: The delay gives me time to update you on the early kickoff results, including one result in this group, with Juventus having beaten Young Boys 3-0 to move top of the group. Elsewhere, Man City needed a late goal to beat Hoffenheim 3-0.
UPDATE: ...and more news for you as there has been a flurry of early goals in the 8pm kickoffs. CSKA Moscow have taken a shock lead against Real Madrid, while Roma and Bayern Munich are already ahead too.
Right, the players are out, the anthem has been played and we're just about ready to get going now. A reminder of the team news before we do get started...
MAN UTD STARTING XI: De Gea; Valencia, Smalling, Bailly, Shaw; Fellaini, Matic, Pogba; Rashford, Lukaku, Sanchez
VALENCIA STARTING XI: Neto; Piccini, Garay, Gabriel, Gaya; Coquelin, Parejo, Kondogbia, Guedes; Rodrigo, Batshuayi
KICKOFF: Here we go, then! Manchester United get us underway at Old Trafford!
Valencia make their first break into the United box and Batshuayi tries to shield the ball from Bailly, but the United defender does just about enough.
A poor pass from Fellaini gifts possession to Guedes, who immediately runs straight at the defence. He breaks into the box and looks for Rodrigo in the middle, but a deflection sees the ball fall kindly for De Gea.
Good play from Rashford as he wins the ball back inside the Valencia area before showing good strength to hold off a defender and playing a low ball into the box. It hits a Valencia man and bounces back up against another - prompting shouts for a penalty for handball, but the ref is having none of it.
This is much better from United at the moment. They have more energy about them and they are keeping Valencia pinned in - the visitors just cannot get out right now!
Dangerous break for Valencia as they get into the United box far too easily from a free kick. Gaya gets the wrong side of Sanchez, who does well not to give a penalty away, and Smalling eventually clears the low ball into the box.
SAVE! De Gea is forced into the first save of the night, but it is as easy as you like for a goalkeeper of his quality. Guedes hit his shot well enough from inside the area, but it was straight at the United keeper.
There have been one or two worrying signs defensive for United so far, but on the whole they will be pretty content with how they have started this match. The players are playing with good urgency and tempo, which is something that has been missing lately.
SHOT! Rashford bursts into life as he darts inside from the left flank, skipping past a couple of defenders before dragging his effort wide of the near post.
UPDATE: Ajax have levelled things up against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, while Benfica now lead AEK Athens 2-0 in Greece.
Fellaini does well to win the ball in midfield before finding Sanchez, who launches a quick counter-attack. Lukaku and Pogba are also involved before the latter slides a pass in to Rashford, but it is just a little bit behind the youngster.
YELLOW CARD! Francis Coquelin is the first name in the book tonight, and he can have no complaints having dragged Rashford to the ground.
United started the match in encouraging fashion, but the tempo of the match has slowed again now and the hosts are struggling to get into any sort of rhythm at the moment. It's all a bit scrappy.
United have edged the possession 53%-47% in this match so far, but it is all too slow now and clear chances have been at a premium for both sides. The onus is on United to go out and attack Valencia, though.
SAVE! Rashford tries to provide a moment of magic to light this game up, turning into space before going for goal from all of 30 yards out. He gets his shot on target, but it is easy for Neto to gather.
CHANCE! This goes down as a chance given the lack of them so far in this match. Rashford rises highest in the area to meet a cross from the right flank and tries to steer it goalwards, but Garay is well placed to make an important block.
There were muted appeals for a penalty after that Garay block, and the replay suggests that it did indeed hit his hand. However, it was down by his side and he could hardly do anything to avoid the ball striking his hand, so it would have been a harsh one.
The frustrations are beginning to grow for United here as Rashford concedes a soft foul before kicking the ball away once he is penalised.
This could be a chance for United to test Neto as Pogba is felled by Batshuayi in a dangerous shooting position. Alexis Sanchez standing over it...
...but he thumps it straight into the wall. The ball bounces back out to Bailly just inside the Valencia half, and the centre-back actually tries to shoot, sending his half-volley unsurprisingly well off target.
YELLOW CARD! Rodrigo goes into the book for a flailing arm on Bailly, who went down very dramatically.
Valencia quickly break down the left flank, with Guedes found in lots of space on the wing. He cuts inside before going for goal, but he perhaps should have been less selfish and his eventual effort is blocked.
Bailly is still struggling after that clash with Rodrigo, having caught an elbow in the throat. He needs more treatment and appears to be having trouble with his breathing at the moment.
United have got into a number of good positions tonight, but there is a lack of conviction about them when they do get into the final third at the moment. They seem to be hesitating on the ball, which is allowing Valencia to get back into shape.
SHOT! A low cross from the Valencia right is only half-cleared by Matic before Parejo is teed up, but he fires an effort well over the crossbar.
UPDATE: Roma have now doubled their advantage against Plzen courtesy of Dzeko's second of the night, while Shakhtar Donetsk have taken the lead against Lyon, which means that this is now our only goalless game this evening.
We're into the closing stages of the first half and and it is all too pedestrian from United once again here. The urgency they showed earlier in the game has all but evaporated and it is quite easy for Valencia at the moment.
YELLOW CARD! Parejo becomes the latest player to go into the book at the end of this first half.
There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this first half.
SHOT! Guedes again finds himself in a bit of space on the left flank before cutting inside and letting fly once more, but he fires his effort well over the top.
HALF TIME: MANCHESTER UNITED 0-0 VALENCIA
Well, that wasn't great in all honesty. United and Valencia are still goalless at the break, and there has not been much to shout about in terms of clear chances either.
It has been another laboured display from Jose Mourinho's side, with inspiration in very short supply so far. Surely things can only get better in the second half!
The best moments for United have all come from Rashford, who darted inside from the left flank before dragging his finish wide of the target.
The youngster is the only one who has tried to take the game to Valencia on a consistent basis, though, and he also forced a routine stop from Neto on the half-hour mark before seeing a headed chance blocked by the defender before it could test the keeper.
Valencia have offered very little themselves either, with De Gea's 15th-minute stop to deny Guedes his only piece of action, but the visitors would be pleased with a draw from this match.
The onus is very much on United to go out and get the win - particularly considering what has happened over the past 10 days - but they have just not looked like a team who feel they are in desperate need of a victory.
KICKOFF: Valencia get us back underway for the second half at Old Trafford.
UPDATE: A couple of early goals in the second half to tell you about; Shakhtar Donetsk have doubled their lead against Lyon, while AEK Athens have halved the deficit against Benfica, who have been reduced to 10 men.
CHANCE! This is a chance for the visitors by the standards of this match. Guedes collects the ball on the edge of the box and United are slow to close him down, but he curls his effort wide of the target.
The visitors come forward again here, once more finding lots of space on that left flank. Gaya races forward before playing the ball to Guedes on the edge once more, but he is quickly closed down and United eventually get enough bodies behind the ball.
Strains of 'Attack! Attack! Attack!' ring out from the Old Trafford faithful. They want to see much more from their side.
CHANCE! United respond with their best chance of the match as Sanchez's cross towards Rashford is only half-cleared. The ball falls at the feet of Pogba, who goes for goal inside the area but sees his effort blocked.
This is better from the hosts now as Sanchez dummies his man before putting a cross into the box. It is too high for Lukaku and Fellaini but arrives to Rashford, who sees his shot blocked. United keep the pressure on, but the referee eventually stops play so that Kondogbia can get some treatment.
There have just been a few signs that United are ready to up the tempo now, and it is about time too. We have had almost an hour now and finally they are beginning to move up a gear. Can they sustain this recent improvement?
UPDATE: Athens have completed the comeback in Greece and are now level at 2-2 with 10-man Benfica! Elsewhere, Roma now lead Plzen 3-0 in Rome.
United have another free kick in a good position here, with Pogba standing over it after Sanchez's earlier effort. Chance to test Neto...
SAVE! Pogba puts plenty of power behind his effort and gets it on target, but Neto is across in good time to tip it over the crossbar.
The resulting corner sparks a flurry of half-openings and sustained United pressure, but it never quite sits for them to have a go and the chances all go begging.
We're 65 minutes into this match and still neither goalkeeper has had a serious save to make. Neto's stop to keep out Pogba's free kick is the toughest save we have seen so far, and that was a simple enough one.
CHANCE! Chance for the visitors as Piccini skips past Pogba far too easily before swinging his cross into the box. Rodrigo knocks it down to Batshuayi, who lashes a snapshot over. That was a good chance for Valencia!
This is so lacklustre from United. The home fans have gone almost silent through boredom here, with the players offering absolutely no signs of creativity or inspiration at the moment.
Rashford is the only one who has looked capable of making something happen tonight, and he skips past his man down the left here but looks up to see no-one in the box. He eventually does put the ball in, but it goes all the way through.
CHANCE! Much more like it from Lukaku. Pogba floats a pass over the top of the defence for the striker to chase and he beats the defenders to it before cutting inside onto his left and forcing a good save from Neto.
CHANCE! Another opening for the hosts as a ball to the back post finds Fellaini, who chests it down before teeing up Sanchez. The Chilean needs to hit it first time, but instead takes a touch and sees the ball closed down.
VALENCIA SUB: The visitors make the first change of the night comes from Valencia as Kevin Gameiro comes on for Batshuayi.
Yet another hint of a chance for United as Pogba swings the ball into Lukaku, who takes a touch and is then thwarted at the near post by some good defending.
MANCHESTER UNITED SUB: The hosts make their first change as Anthony Martial replaces Sanchez, who was slowly walking off before being told in no uncertain terms to hurry up by 75,000 United fans.
VALENCIA SUB: The visitors make a change of their own, with Carlos Soler replacing Coquelin.
Another chance for United from a free kick now, and this one is arguably in the best position yet...
...and Lukaku produces the worst effort yet. His strike goes straight into the wall.
VALENCIA SUB: A third and final change for Valencia sees Denis Cheryshev replace Guedes.
YELLOW CARD! Piccini gets away with one here! He dives in on Martial and brings him down right on the edge of the box. It looks like it could be a penalty, but the referee points for a free kick and the replay proves that it is the right decision.
OFF THE BAR! Rashford almost provides the moment of quality which has been sorely lacking so far as his free kick from a really difficult angle clips the top of the bar on its way over the top!
YELLOW CARD! Lukaku becomes the latest name in the book tonight.
YELLOW CARD! Gaya quickly joins him for a challenge off the ball on Rashford.
CHANCE! Big chance for United to steal a late winner as Lukaku darts to the near post but puts his unmarked header over the crossbar! He should have done a lot better there!
There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this match.
YELLOW CARD! Kondogbia picks up a late yellow for a heavy challenge on Matic, although he did get the ball.
FULL TIME: MANCHESTER UNITED 0-0 VALENCIA
The final whistle is greeted by cascades of boos from the United fans, and in truth it is hard to blame them.
This is a team with lots of talent and plenty of big names, but this was another lacklustre and uninspiring performance which will only invite more questions regarding their form. Four games without a win now - and four home games too - and United did not deserve anything more than that tonight.
Right, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Manchester United once again fail to shine in a goalless draw with Valencia at Old Trafford. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
