Michael Owen makes his predictions for Manchester United vs Villarreal
Michael Owen has predicted his former side Manchester United will come away with a comfortable 2-0 win over La Liga side Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League this week.
Writing in his BetVictor column (via The Sport Review), Michael Owen believes it is a must-win game for Manchester United. The former Liverpool forward thinks Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side will have enough quality to beat a well-organized Villarreal side.
Owen writes:
“This is a must-win for United after some disappointing results. Villarreal are an organised side but have had a strange start to their La Liga season, drawing five of their first six. Unai Emery is obviously an experienced manager in Europe, but I think United will have too much for them. I’m going for a 2-0 United win.”
Manchester United will be seeking revenge after Villarreal defeated the Red Devils in last season's Europa League final on penalties.
Manchester United come into their game against Villarreal after suffering a shock defeat at the hands of Swiss champions BSC Young Boys. Since then, the Red Devils have been on a run of poor results, losing to West Ham United in the Carabao Cup and then losing to Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Despite a run of three defeats in four games, Michael Owen expects a positive response from Manchester United as they look to secure their first points in the Champions League.
Villarreal, on the other hand, drew their opening game against Serie A side Atalanta.
Manchester United will be without club captain Harry Maguire against Villarreal
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that club captain Harry Maguire will miss out on their game against Villarreal in the Champions League.
Both Maguire and Luke Shaw limped off in Manchester United's defeat to Aston Villa. But Luke Shaw does have a slight chance of featuring in the tie.
Solskjaer said:
"It looks like Harry is definitely out. Luke, we might give a chance to but he didn't train this morning. So maybe the best case scenario is he will join us on the bench.
"Luke has been in today so I'll give him a chance to be involved. He didn't train with the team. Harry is, more or less, definitely out and it doesn't look good. It's Harry's calf and it might take a few weeks. Let's see how quickly he recovers."
Manchester United will be hoping Cristiano Ronaldo finds the net after going goalless for the first time against Aston Villa.