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Fairytale story Como host struggling giants Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League on the banks of Lake Como on Wednesday.
Cesc Fabregas has done a wonderful job as Como have only been in Serie A for the last two years and finished fourth last season. They have built a very solid squad with plenty of savvy loan signings, and hammered RB Leipzig 4-1 in their Champions League opener at home before losing 3-2 at Feyenoord last week. Fabregas has created an exciting, attacking team and their tiny stadium is perhaps the most picturesque in Europe and it will be rocking.
Michael Carrick is rocking at the start of this season, as United have won just two of their first 10 games. They grabbed a draw at Leeds on Sunday but were well beaten at Atletico Madrid last week. There are signs United are looking a bit more solid and their new-look midfield is starting to gel. But they need their talented attackers to hit top form as it’s all very clunky and predictable at the moment.
Kick off time: 12:45pm ET Wednesday (October 21)
Venue: Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia — Como, Italy
TV Channel/Streaming: Paramount+
The likes of Robert Sanchez, Trevoh Chalobah, Nico Paz and Moise Kean are all names we know well, while Fabregas has some emerging stars with French international Lucas Da Cunha a real talent in midfield. Greek forward Anastasios Douvikas is the main threat up top and Como love to play direct, free-flowing football and push high up the pitch. Como need to get points on the board early in the Champions League as their final two league phase games are against PSG and Barcelona.
United badly need a confidence-boosting win and Carrick could stick to the back three he used at Leeds at the weekend. It worked well and gave them more control in the game, while also being able to switch easily to a back four when in possession. The main thing is getting the most out of Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo in attack. In midfield Carlos Baleba is really impressing, while fellow new signings Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans are starting to settle down too.
This feels like it will be quite fun and United will edge it on the counter attack. Como 2-3 Manchester United.
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