The Champions League is back this week and on Wednesday night the tie of the night is certainly the one that takes place at Old Trafford. Manchester United host Barcelona in the first leg of this tie, with the second game coming towards the end of the month in Spain.

If United are to cause an upset here, then they more than likely have to take something from this game to defend in Spain with them. However, having said that, the same was said before they played PSG and look at what happened there, they came back from the dead and rescued a victory away in France to get through to this round.

This is in many ways going to be a very similar tie to that game against PSG. The French side went to Old Trafford and they attacked United, I expect Barcelona to do exactly that. Then in the second leg they tried to do the same, and United had to do what they could with the ball on the break. The actual quality of the teams is similar, and the games are expected to take a similar path, so they should certainly know what to expect.

Barcelona are the favourites though, both in terms of this game alone on Wednesday night, and the overall two-legged tie. They are the second favourites behind Manchester City to win the whole tournament, and that is deserved based on what we have seen from them this season, and over the past few in Europe.

Solskjaer a Risk Free Chance to Get United Reign Off to a Perfect Start

While Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been in charge of Manchester United since before Christmas, this season is a bit of a freebie for him, and he is going to be challenged and judged based on what happens from the summer onwards. He was brought in as a temporary manager to steady the ship, something he has done brilliantly, although the odd blip shows that there is still plenty of work to do with the squad. That is something he can get stuck into during the summer, and something that will prevent fans from getting on his back too much, regardless of how the season ends, providing they are not humiliated of course.

The club are still in the race for the top four, something that looked a long way off when he took over in December, and in the last eight of the Champions League. You could say he has achieved enough this season already, regardless of where they go from here. A place in the top four, or indeed a place in the final four of the Champions League, would be seen as a huge success for the club. Perhaps that is what they should be aiming for anyway, but to do it after such a bad start is something they should be pleased and proud of, and I’m sure the fans will be.

The big story over the summer is going to be how much the board back Solskjaer, and what he spends that money on. It was no secret that former boss Jose Mourinho fell out with the board over his transfer budget, claiming he needed more to be successful. While Mourinho had his faults, fans will agree that the club needs investment, will that be given to Solskjaer this summer or not?

The centre of defence is likely to be the main area that Solskjaer will want to improve, and United have continued to look a little suspect there since he joined the club. They would love a top quality centre half to really command their defence, in a similar way to the role Liverpool gave to Virgil Van Dijk. That kind of move would also send a message out to the fans that United are back, and the board want Solskjaer to be a success.

Manchester United vs Barcelona Betting Tips

I always look for value in the bets I place, and the value in this game appears to be with the home team. Barcelona are quite a short price for a team that doesn’t actually need to win this game to win the overall tie. If for example, the game is tied 0-0 with 10 minutes to go, Barcelona will not make it a priority to win the game, instead their priority will be to ensure they don’t lose it. I don’t like backing teams who are in a position where they don’t need to win, and I won’t start doing that now here, especially at the price Barcelona are.

Instead I will take a chance on Manchester United to sneak a win here. They are going to have a packed Old Trafford behind them, and a chance to show us all how far they have come under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

We have seen United play well under pressure in big games already under the Norwegian manager, and let’s hope that continues here. I don’t think there is that much between these two when you give United the advantage of playing at home, certainly not as much as the betting odds suggest there is.

I’ll take a chance on an outsider this week and back Manchester United to beat Barcelona on Wednesday night at Old Trafford, setting up what would be a fantastic second leg game in Barcelona in a couple of weeks.

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