Manchester United will travel to Young Boys to get their Champions League group stage underway on Wednesday, the first of many difficult tests in a difficult Group H that also involves Juventus and Valencia.
The Red Devils have typically gotten favourable group stage draws in the past, but they weren't quite so lucky this season.
Jose Mourinho will be aiming to improve on their early exit last season when they crashed out at home to Sevilla in the last 16, though it will be a tough task, given their turbulent start to the Premier League campaign.
| Game | Young Boys v Man Utd |
| Date | Wednesday, September 19 |
| Time | 8pm BST / 3pm EST |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game will be shown on Univision Deportes and livestreamed through B/R Live.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Univision Deportes | B/R Live |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on BT Sport 2 and livestreamed through BT Sport Live.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| BT Sport 2 | BT Sport Live |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Young Boys players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Wolfi, von Ballmoos, Marzino |
| Defenders | Camara, von Bergen, Garcia, Wuthrich, Benito, Mbabu |
| Midfielders | Bertone, Sulejmani, Sow, Ngameleu, Fassnacht, Schick, Teixeira, Sanogo |
| Forwards | Assale, Nsame, Kasai, Hoarau |
Young Boys will be without emerging midfield talent Jordan Lotombo who will miss the European clash with a knee injury, while Sandro Lauper also misses out with an ankle injury.
Midfielder Miralem Sulejmani, however, returned to the fold in the 2-2 draw in the Schweizer Cup last weekend and starts against Man United.
Young Boys XI: Von Ballmoos, Mbabu, Camara, Von Bergen, Benito, Fassnacht, Sow, Sanogo, Sulejmani; Hoarau, Assale
| Position | Man Utd players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | De Gea, Grant, Romero |
| Defenders | Valencia, Darmian, Dalot, Lindelof, Bailly, Jones, Smalling, Rojo, Shaw, Young |
| Midfielders | Pogba, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Pereira, Fred, Herrera, Fellaini, Matic, Scott McTominay, Hamilton, Garner |
| Forwards | Sanchez, Lukaku, Martial, Rashford, Chong |
Diogo Dalot makes his full debut for the Red Devils folowing his £19m arrival from Porto this summer. The defender was sporting a minor knee injury when he arrived, which required surgery, but was able to feature for 90 minutes for the U23s against Reading on Friday.
Luke Shaw is handed a start after sustaining a concussion on England duty, leaving him to miss Saturday's 2-1 win against Watford, while Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial will support Romelu Lukaku up front.
Man Utd XI: De Gea, Dalot, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw, Pogba, Matic, Fred, Rashford, Lukaku, Martial.
Betting & Match Odds
Man United are priced at odds of winning 7/10 according to bet 365, while a draw is available at 3/1. A win for Young Boys is up for 17/4.
Match Preview
Getty ImagesOn paper, two legs against Swiss side Young Boys may be among the more favourable within Manchester United's group stage.
But they will be careful not to head into the fixture too confident, as the hosts have made a perfect start to their domestic season in Switzerland – winning all six of their opening games and using the momentum to guide them to a strong start when they welcome Mourinho's side.
The Portuguese manager, on the other hand, has endured a rather off-kilter start to the domestic season, clashing with vice-chairman Ed Woodward for failing to grant him a slew of summer signings and Manchester United losing two of their opening five games.
This season is also, coincidentally, Mourinho's infamous third season in charge of the club, and a season in which he has – in the past – known to self-destruct and cause his side's form to implode.
Manchester United returned to winning ways over the weekend when they won against Watford, though consecutive losses to Brighton and Tottenham have quelled their momentum and cast doubt on their ability to truly challenge for the Premier League title.