Jesse Lingard, Ashley Young, Ander Herrera and Marcos Rojo all are unavailable for Manchester United with injury. Young started the defeat to West Ham while Herrera and Lingard did not feature and Rojo has a long-term injury problem.
Jose Gaya is back in training for Valencia after missing the weekend victory with injury but Santi Mina and Ferran Torres remain absentees. Kevin Gameiro found the net on Saturday and he’s likely to partner on-loan Chelsea man Michy Batshuayi up front.
young captained United in Saturday’s loss to West Ham while Herrera and Lingard did not feature. Defender Marcos Rojo, who is yet to play this season, is also injured. United are top of Group H after beating Young Boys in their opening match but have not won any of their three matches since in all competitions. Manager Jose Mourinho said some of his players “care more than others” in his pre-match news conference when asked about the winless run. The match is the first of two consecutive Champions League home games for United with Juventus visiting Old Trafford on 23 October. Spanish side Valencia, competing in the Champions League for the first time in three seasons, are third in the group after losing 2-0 at home against Juventus in their opening fixture.
Match Facts
- Manchester United have lost only once in eight previous meetings with Valencia in all competitions (W2, D5), and never in the Champions League (P6, W2, D4, L0), with this their first encounter in this competition since December 2010, a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
- Valencia have only won once in 10 visits to English sides in the Champions League (D6, L3), a 1-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield in October 2002.
- Manchester United have not lost back-to-back home Champions League games since March 2013, when Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge.
- Manchester United have lost just one of their last 18 Champions League group stage games at Old Trafford (W12, D5), a 1-0 defeat to CFR Cluj in December 2012. They have won eight of their last nine such games since that defeat (D1).
- Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has never previously lost to Valencia in 10 clashes in all competitions (W6, D4), including a 3-2 aggregate victory in the quarter-finals of the 2006-07 Champions League while managing Chelsea.
- Valencia have lost each of their last four Champions League games, their worst ever streak in the competition. Only two Spanish clubs have ever lost 5+ consecutive games in the history of the competition – Real Sociedad (five in October 2013) and Villarreal (seven in December 2011).
- Just one of Valencia’s last 17 Champions League group stage games has ended in a draw (W8, D1, L8), a 1-1 stalemate against Bayern Munich in November 2012.
- Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba scored as many goals in the opening game of this season’s Champions League against Young Boys (2) as he did in his previous 37 matches in the competition combined.
- Paul Pogba has been directly involved in four of Manchester United’s last six Champions League goals (two goals, two assists), including all three this season (two goals, one assist).
Head to Head
- Manchester United have lost only once in eight previous meetings with Valencia in all competitions (W2 D5), and never in the Champions League (P6 W2 D4 L0), with this their first encounter in this competition since December 2010, a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
- Against no other side have Manchester United faced in the Champions League more often than Valencia without ever losing (six games, level with Bayer 04 Leverkusen and CSKA Moscow).
- Valencia have only won once in 10 visits to English sides in the Champions League (D6 L3), a 1-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield in October 2002.
- Manchester United have not lost back-to-back home Champions League games since March 2013 when Alex Ferguson was in charge.
- Manchester United have lost just one of their last 18 Champions League group stage games at Old Trafford (W12 D5), a 1-0 defeat to CFR Cluj in December 2012. They have won eight of their last nine such games since that defeat (D1).
- Valencia have lost each of their last four Champions League games, their worst ever streak in the competition. Only two Spanish clubs have ever lost 5+ consecutive games in the history of the competition – Real Sociedad (five in October 2013) and Villarreal (seven in December 2011).
- Just one of Valencia’s last 17 Champions League group stage games has ended in a draw (W8 D1 L8), a 1-1 stalemate against Bayern Munich in November 2012.
- Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba scored as many goals in the opening game of this season’s Champions League against BSC Young Boys (2) as he did in his previous 37 matches in the competition combined.
- Pogba has been directly involved in four of Manchester United’s last six Champions League goals (two goals, two assists), including all three this season (two goals, one assist).
Predicted line-ups
Man United: De Gea; Valencia, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw; Fred, Fellaini, Pogba; Rashford, Lukaku, Sanchez
Valencia: Neto; Vezo, Gabriel, Diakhaby, Gaya; Guedes, Parejo, Kondogbia, Cheryshev; Rodrigo, Batshuayi
PREDICTION
Prediction: 2-0