Manchester United v Istanbul Basaksehir: Champions League – live!

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7.39pm GMT

Pre-match pessimism / brazen fate-tempting. “This should be straightforward but United will most likely labour and make a meal out of it as per lately,” sighs Neil Carter. “Henderson should have started and Lindelof should have been rested as he’s been struggling with his back. Tuanzabe should have gotten some minutes. But what do I know eh. Shame there are no fans in the stadium to welcome back Rafael.”

7.10pm GMT

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer names an attacking team. Donny van de Beek gets a rare run out, while Edinson Cavani makes his first start for United. Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata drop to the bench, the two sacrifices in the wake of the uninspiring win over West Bromwich Albion at the weekend. David de Gea is selected ahead of Dean Henderson, who played in Istanbul.

Basaksehir name ten of the 11 players who started the reverse fixture three weeks ago. Nacer Chadli, formerly of West Bromwich Albion, takes the place of Danijel Aleksic on the left wing. Demba Ba, who scored that goal, spearheads the Turkish champions again. Chadli and Ba aren’t the only erstwhile Premier League stars in the Basaksehir XI: Martin Skrtel, once of Liverpool, marshals their defence alongside former United favourite Rafael.

7.02pm GMT

Manchester United: de Gea, Wan Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Telles, van de Beek, Fred, Martial, Fernandes, Rashford, Cavani.
Subs: Mata, Greenwood, Grant, James, Fosu-Mensah, Ighalo, Henderson, Pellistri, Matic, Williams, Tuanzebe, Mengi.

Istanbul Basaksehir: Gunok, Da Silva, Skrtel, Epureanu, Bolingoli Mbombo, Ozcan, Visca, Chadli, Kahveci, Turuc, Ba.
Subs: Babacan, Kaldirim, Kivanc, Giuliano, Tekdemir, Gulbrandsen, Ponck, Kaplan, Karakus.

3.50pm GMT

On the face of it, this shouldn’t be a particularly difficult assignment for Manchester United. Istanbul Basaksehir have lost their last three European away games, conceding eight goals in the process. They’ve lost ten of their 16 away matches in Europe, letting in 33 goals and keeping just one clean sheet. And their five-match unbeaten run in the Turkish Super Lig came to an end at the weekend, two late Fredrik Gulbrandsen goals putting a flattering sheen on a 3-2 defeat at city rivals Besiktas.

However United’s form at Old Trafford is nothing short of downright weird. The narrow win over West Bromwich Albion at the weekend was their first victory at home in the Premier League this season. They’ve lost four of their last seven home Champions League fixtures, and three of their last four games against Turkish opponents. On the flip side, they won all five of their home games in last season’s Europa League, scoring 15 times and conceding just the one. They’re currently on a six-game winning streak in Europe at Old Trafford; the aggregate score is 20-1. They recently routed last season’s semi-finalists Leipzig 5-0. Good luck sifting through all this evidence.

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