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Manchester United have been on the rise over the last year, ever since the hiring of Jose Mourinho and a transfer policy that’s finally gotten as aggressive and forward-thinking as it had needed to be for a long time. Now they’re back in the Champions League, and facing an always-tricky foe in Switzerland’s FC Basel.
Basel aren’t a team that seem like a particular threat to make the Champions League final or even make a deep knockout round run, but they’ve been a persistent thorn in the sides of bigger clubs in the group stage over the years, even causing a few eye-opening upsets along the way. They’re not going to make life easy for Manchester United, and even playing in the hallowed grounds of Old Trafford, they’re going to be a tricky team to beat.
But this Manchester United team isn’t one to take lightly, unlike the first squads they put together after the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson — and arguably unlike some at the end of his tenure as well. This team is hungrier, more athletic, and much, much better, and even with Basel throwing a full bag of tricks at them, they should still win this match in the end.
Manchester United have a pair of important players out suspended, with Phil Jones and Eric Bailly serving out bans earned in the Europa League last season. They’ll joined the injured group of Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw, Ashley Young, and James Wilson on the sideline, as well as Zlatan Ibrahimovic who is still working his way back to fitness following last season’s devastating knee injury. Basel, meanwhile, are missing just one player, in Serey Die, who is out with a foot injury.
Match info, plus how to watch on TV and stream
Match Date/Time: Tuesday, 2:45 p.m. ET, 7:45 p.m. local
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester, England
TV: Fox Sports 1 (U.S.), BT Sport 2 (U.K.), RTS Sport, RSI La 2, RTS Deux, SRF zwei, Sky Sports 1 Switzerland (Switzerland)
Online: Fox Soccer Match Pass, Fox Sports Go, ESPN3, WatchESPN (U.S.), BT Sport Live (U.K.), TeleClub Sport Live (Switzerland)
Make friends: Check out The Busby Babe for more Manchester United coverage.
Listings for more countries can be found at LiveSoccerTV.