Ole Gunnar Solskjaer faces his toughest test yet as Manchester United’s caretaker boss when he takes on Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions league round of 16 first leg at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
The Norwegian is unbeaten in ten games in all competitions since replacing Jose Mourinho in mid- December but the Ligue 1 giants pose a serious threat to that record.
Few gave United much chance of overcoming the Parisians when the draw was made in December but Mourinho was sacked 24 hours later and Solskjaer has revived United’s attacking traditions in less than two months in the job.
Nevertheless, PSG remain favourites to reach the last-eight but what can United expect when Thomas Tuchel’s men walk out at the Theatre of Dreams?
With Neymar missing through injury, all eyes will be on 20-year-old sensation Kylian Mbappe.
The forward lit up the 2018 World Cup and became the first teenager since Pele to score in a final during France’s 4-2 win against Croatia.
Mbappe’s taken his fine form in Russia into this season and has already bettered his goal return from his debut campaign at Paris Saint-Germain by bagging 22 goals in 25 games this term.
The Frenchman is expected to play from the centrally at Old Trafford and United will need Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof to be at their very best to keep him quiet.
The club have known they’ll be without Neymar for the last fortnight but Cavani’s absence has come as a hammer blow to the club in the build-up to Tuesday’s clash. The Uruguayan was forced off during
PSG’s clash with Bordeaux on Saturday and failed to travel with the side to Manchester on Tuesday.
The club are also said to fear that he will miss the return leg in France in three weeks’ time. Though the Parisians have the likes of former United winger Angel Di Maria to come in, the absence of Cavani and Neymar is a huge blow to Tuchel’s side.
Unfortunately, that’s not the end of the club’s injury problems with Marco Verratti, the Italian midfielder, a doubt for the first leg as he’s struggling with an ankle injury.
Tuchel has used centre-back Marquinhos as an emergency defensive central midfielder without Verratti but the acquisition of Leandro Paredes in January has eased the issues in midfield.
