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Key events
For Atleti, Koke missing, as mentioned previously, but Julian Alvarez, who wanted to leave the club in the summer, is a starter. His last start was against Liverpool, so this is his first home start of the season.
That United team looks like Youri Tielemans is being pushed forward and Bruno Fernandes will be playing off the flanks. Marcus Rashford returns to the starting lineup. Baleba added some energy to United on Saturday against Tottenham though his shooting was a little wayward. Is that Dalot or Yoro at left-back? Would guess Yoro. Andrey Santos for the double pivot, too.
Teams: Baleba starts for United
Atlético Madrid: Oblak, Llorente, Romero, Hancko, Grimaldo, Simeone, Barrios, Cardoso, Alex Baena, Alvarez, Lee. Subs: Musso, Mendoza, Sorloth, Lookmnan, David, Ortiz, Pubill, Hjulmand, Le Normand, Lituba, Dani Martinez, Castillo.
Manchester United: Lammens, Dalot, Martinez, Heaven, Yoro, Santos, Baleba, Tielemans, B.Fernandes, Rashford, Mbeumo. Subs: Darlow, Mee, Amass, Armer, De Ligt, Maguire, Mount, T.Fletcher, Lacey, Amad, Cunha, Zirkzee.
Michael Carrick was not exactly bullish – he never is – but he remains publicly calm under pressure.
We hoped for a lot more, we expected a lot more, and we are where we are. I was aware that, winning as many as we had [last season], it was going to get more challenging, stickier. I understand that when it is not going well there is a real clamour and a feeling that it’s a disaster, that it’s all wrong and that everything needs to be changed. I kind of get that, but that’s not our mindset and it’s certainly not mine. You have to deal with things and overcome them. That is what I did throughout my career. We have to accept reality but we are building and you can’t lose sight of the journey.
It feels a long time since Manchester United played Sabah on their opening group-stage match.
There will be 3,750 United fans in the stands. They have not had much to cheer this season.
Atlético Madrid captain Koke will not play tonight after his mother died.
There will be a moment of silence before the game at the Metropolitano Stadium, and the home team’s players will wear black armbands. Koke’s brother, Borja Resurrección, is an assistant coach of Atletico’s under-19 squad. The club’s flag outside the Metropolitano is flying at half-mast
Preamble
With Manchester United and Michael Carrick careering towards the dumper, then travelling to face Diego Simeone’s Atleti is almost certainly not the fixture that would be handpicked. Though perhaps it can serve as some kind of turning point. Play as sluggishly as United have in their last two Premier League matches either side of the international break – Fulham and Tottenham – and there’s big trouble in store. Atlético have won their last four matches in La Liga, including a famous win in the Madrid derby. Their last Champions League match did, thouugh, see them lose at Anfield. If the competition’s bloated structure has its critics, and United can probably get away with losing in the scheme of reaching the knockouts, Carrick can barely afford to. Further to that, there may not be two more opposite touchline characters than Simeone and Carrick.
Kick-off is at 8pm UK time. Join me.
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