For Manchester United, a two-legged tie against FC Barcelona is the perfect opportunity to show the world that this is a team capable of going toe-to-toe with the very best. I, for one, cannot wait.
Ahead of the eagerly-anticipated encounter, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer met the media to give us the all-important team news.
After a week without a game, you’d have thought that perhaps we’d be welcoming players back from injury, instead, the boss is sweating on the fitness of three players.
The Baby Faced Assassin also added that Nemanja Matic should be available, as should Marcus Rashford; although it’s by no means a guarantee the duo will play…
“We still hope maybe that Nemanja can be ready, but Ander is probably out,” Solskjaer told reporters, including ManUtd.com. “Antonio [Valencia] and Eric [Bailly] are definitely out.”
Then, when discussing Rashford, the gaffer said:
“He needed an extra warm-up and hopefully he won’t get a reaction. “
He joined parts of it at the end, but he couldn’t join in the boxes, which is the fun part of training. Let’s see tomorrow. Hopefully, he’ll be ready.”
Losing Herrera is a blow. The Basque-born midfielder brings an energy to the table that nobody else in this squad can. He’s great on both sides of the ball and the way he can transition from defence into attack is exceptional.
As for Eric Bailly and Antonio Valencia, those guys haven’t been regular starters for a while now and you wonder about their long-term futures.
Now it’s time to hope and pray that Rashford can get himself fit and ready. We’ve seen the Wythenshawe-born-forward put his body on the line before, particularly as he’s been struggling with ongoing injuries for the last month or so, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him do it again tomorrow night.
Whatever happens, whoever plays, it’s going to be a special night under the Old Trafford floodlights.