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Juventus vs Manchester United
Uefa Champions League 2018/19
Venue: Juventus Stadium
Kick-off: 8pm GMT
Cristiano Ronaldo will get another chance to score against his former club as Juventus and Manchester United face off in Turin tonight.
Juve star Ronaldo could not find the net on his Old Trafford return in matchday 3, but Paulo Dybala’s goal handed the Italian champions a richly deserved 1-0 victory in Manchester to take control of Group H.
With Juve almost certain to top the group, Jose Mourinho knows United – second in the table with four points (two ahead of Valencia) – are playing for the runners-up spot. Although a defeat could see the Red Devils slip out of the qualification spots with two games to play, United still have a last-16 spot in their hands at this point.
Follow all the action with our Manchester correspondent James Robson LIVE in Turin!
Live Updates
What’s in it for Juventus?
With a perfect record of three wins from three games so far, Juventus can seal qualification tonight.
Just a point is enough to book a spot in the last 16, while a win would wrap the group up tonight too.
Bad news for Manchester United
Santi Mina has given Valencia a 1-0 lead and as it stands the Spanish side move into second place in the group.
It’s David de Gea’s birthday today. There’ll be a few men in black and white out to spoil his day in a couple of hours’ time.
The other game in this group has just kicked off, with Valencia hosting Young Boys.
Neither side can be mathematically eliminated tonight, but a draw or a Young Boys win would be an ideal result for United.
What happened last time?
This is, of course, the second meeting between these two sides in this year’s group stage.
A fortnight ago at Old Trafford, Juventus ran out 1-0 winners thanks to Paulo Dybala’s goal, a victory that was probably more comfortable than the scoreline suggests.
Afterwards, Jose Mourinho said that Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chielliini could give lectures in defending at Harvard because they were so good.
Can United’s front line find a way through them in their own back yard tonight?
Rashford on target in training…
In case you missed this one yesterday:
As seen before on transfer deadline day, Sky Sports journalists have become accustomed to ignoring background distractions. But newsreader Vinny O’Connor certainly wasn’t expecting to fall victim to a prank when filming at Manchester United’s training ground.
The Sky Sports News reporter was invited to watch Jose Mourinho’s side’s last session at Carrington before their trip to Turin to face Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday.
As he was nearing the end of his news report, United forward Marcus Rashford could be seen lining up to hit the ball in the distance.
RESULT
Juventus U19 2-2 Manchester United U19
United are all but guaranteed a spot in the knockout stages after Barlow’s penalty rescues a point.
GOAL UPDATE
Juventus U19 2-2 Manchester United U19
Another penalty, this time for Man United, is converted by 18-year-old Aidan Barlow and the scores are level once again.
GOAL UPDATE
Juventus U19 2-1 Manchester United U19
An own goal from brings the visitors level! But just minutes later, Manolo Portanova puts Juve back in front with a cool finish.
GOAL UPDATE
Juventus U19 1-0 Manchester United U19
Juventus have just taken the lead in Turin thanks to a penalty from Elia Petrelli.
United’s young stars in action
Manchester United Under-19s’ game against Juventus’ primavera side has begun in Italy.
The Red Devils impressively triumphed 4-1 in the home game two weeks ago and will be hoping to qualify with a victory having won all three of their group matches so far.
We’ll keep you updated on the main events from Turin.
It feels like Mourinho and Pogba are reading from the same script whenever asked about their relationship.
Mourinho: “There is what the press says and another is what Paul says and another is what I say.
“The press say we have a terrible relationship, but some months ago Paul said we gave a typical coach and player relationship. I think he have a good relationship between a coach and a football player.”
Pogba: “(We have a) Manager-coach-player-manager (relationship) like everybody. How is the manager with other players? He will say he is the manager and they are the players.
“I do what he tells me to do. He’s the boss, he’s the manager and I listen. I enjoy it. I just listen, and I do it with happiness.”
Nothing to see here then.
Ander Herrera’s game-changing cameo against Bournemouth on Saturday will almost certainly earn him a start ahead of Fred against Juventus.
Nemanja Matic is likely to be paired with Herrera, while Mourinho will hope Paul Pogba, on his first return to Turin since leaving Juve in 2016, can produce one of his more influential displays.
Last week, Paul Pogba was quoted as saying Turin still feels like “home” – the latest in a string of eyebrow-raising comments to come from the Frenchman this term.
But the Manchester United midfielder insists he isn’t missing Italy.
“Do I look sad?” said the Frenchman ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League tie with his former club Juventus. “No. I’m happy. I’m happy to wear the shirt.
“I was really happy to come back to Manchester United, wearing this shirt playing for this team, this big club.”
Juventus’ narrow win at Old Trafford in October was the first meeting between the two European heavyweights in 15 years.
Back on a February evening in 2003, Ryan Giggs inspired United to one of their best performances away in Europe to propel his side into the quarter-finals for the seventh successive season.
The Welshman scored twice that night as United made it four games without a defeat against the Old Lady – three wins and one draw.
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Team news
Romelu Lukaku is out – the 25-year-old pulled up in training ahead of Saturday’s win at Bournemouth and is absent for the Group H encounter in Turin.
Diogo Dalot is out and Marcos Rojo has reportedly not travelled, but Marouane Fellaini and Antonio Valencia are back in contention having travelled to Turin.
Provisional squad: De Gea, Romero, Grant, Valencia, Young, Darmian, Shaw, Smalling, Bailly, Lindelof, Jones, Fellaini, Herrera, Lingard, Matic, McTominay, Pogba, Mata, Pereira, Fred, Martial, Rashford, Sanchez.
Predicted starting line-ups
Juventus (4-3-3): Szczensy; Cancelo, Chiellini, Bonucci, Sandro; Pjanic, Matuidi, Bentancur; Cuadrado Dybala, Ronaldo
Man Utd (4-3-3): De Gea; Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw; Matic, Herrera, Pogba; Rashford, Sanchez, Martial
TV, online and live stream coverage
The match will be televised live on BT Sport 2. BT Sport subscribers will be able to stream the match online via the video player and the BT Sport app.
Head to head
The last time the two sides met was in matchday 3, with Paulo Dybala sealing a 1-0 win at Old Trafford.
The two teams have met on 13 occasions in total in Uefa competitions, with United winning five games, Juventus, six, and the sides sharing two draws.
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