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Do or Die For Manchester United Against Valencia

Manchester United have made their worst start to a Premier League season in almost three decades. While this may have absolutely no bearing whatsoever on the Champions League, which is what we’re going to focus on, that fact still needs to be addressed because it could easily cause their confidence to dip in other competitions that they’re involved in. Of course, the priority for many United fans is going to be finally getting Jose Mourinho out of the club so that they can start fresh, but we aren’t sure how viable that is as an option given how much it would cost to let him go.

Regardless of that, however, Valencia deserve a little bit more respect than just being known as ‘the team who could put the final nail in the coffin’, although some feel as if West Ham United did a fairly good job of that at the weekend. The Spanish side certainly won’t be making the trip all the way to Old Trafford just to make up the numbers, because they’ll fully believe that they can come away with the three points – and they’re absolutely right. United are devoid of confidence and Valencia are capable of playing some really nice stuff, which makes this encounter all the more intriguing.

In the realms of their Champions League group it does feel as if these two sides are going to be battling it out for 2nd spot, with Juventus already looking as if they’re going to storm their way through to the latter stages of the competition. Either way, though, the best thing to do when you find yourselves in the group stage is to take one game at a time, because things can often get pretty unpredictable. So, while some foolish fans will probably try to convince you that they’ll be boycotting this one as a protest to Mourinho, they’re probably lying.

The Champions League is by far and away the best source for great club football to be found across the globe, and you won’t find many folks who will debate that. The best of the best compete in games that are showcased to fans around the world, and these two clubs are often expected to be amongst the ‘best of the best’. Obviously their goal is to get back to those heights given what it would represent, but for now, they seriously need to take things one step at a time – and that doesn’t just go for the Red Devils.

In terms of their last six games United actually did manage to go on a three game winning streak with triumphs over Burnley, Watford and Young Boys. Alas, the wheels came off in a really entertaining clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers, who managed to hold out for a point at the Theatre of Dreams. They followed that up with a humiliating loss to Derby County in the Carabao Cup, and as we noted earlier, they made West Ham look like Barcelona throughout the course of 90 minutes. That, in itself, is quite an achievement.

Valencia haven’t exactly been faring perfectly in their last six games, either, going on a run that they’d rather forget. After back to back draws against Real Betis and Levante they were handily defeated by Juventus in the Champions League, before another two draws against Villarreal and Celta Vigo. They’ll be hoping that their win over Sociedad will give them some confidence heading into midweek, but it was pretty fortunate – and the scorelines don’t lie, with the Spaniards scoring just four goals in their last six. Yes, that is an accurate figure, which should be viewed as fairly terrifying when heading to Old Trafford.

While the two clubs don’t exactly play each other regularly they aren’t strangers by any stretch of the imagination, with United leading the overall head to head standings 2-1 with five draws in there too. In their last meeting, back in 2010, they drew 1-1 – in a game that was also in the Champions League. Both clubs have changed significantly in that time, to the point where a 1-1 draw would probably be considered a disappointment by Valencia when you consider just how poor United have been. Then again, maybe that’s their aim, but they should be looking towards greater things if they’ve been keeping an eye on Mourinho’s men lately.

Jose will likely upset the established order in terms of team changes, and we can actually see him dropping Paul Pogba for this one. It seems baffling to suggest but the ongoing rumours of a rift between them appear to be getting stronger, so why not just steer into the skid? After all, it’s not like they’re both going to be at the club for much longer, because we can almost guarantee that one – or both of them – will blink eventually. Don’t be surprised if we see a few youngsters getting some minutes under their belt, too.

Valencia, in contrast, will probably play quite a strong starting XI given the stakes at hand in this game. If they can get the win then it could spur them on towards even bigger things in the Champions League, and if they can reach the Round of 16, that’d be one hell of an achievement. They’re currently sat in 12th position in La Liga which may confuse some fans who wonder why we’re bigging them up so much, but let’s just remember who they’ve lost to already this season.

Manchester United vs Valencia Betting Prediction

While you could argue that the atmosphere at Old Trafford is never particularly great, we can foresee a scenario where it’s even worse against Valencia. The attendance figure will probably be quite high and they might get behind them for the first five or ten minutes, but if they can’t find the back of the net, then that sense of panic will likely kick in once again.

United need to move the ball around in the middle of the park if they’re going to stand any chance of picking up the win, because they need to let Valencia know that they aren’t going to allow them to dictate the pace. In the end, we do actually think that United will come away win a 2-0 victory to get them back on the right track, but it probably won’t mean much.

In the grand scheme of things, the countdown to Mourinho’s dismissal has likely already begun, and it’s just a case of waiting to see what happens from here. Maybe he’ll go all out in a desperate attempt to save his job, but you have to question how much he really wants it at this stage.