Managerless Man Utd must lift gloom at Villarreal, Chelsea face Juve battle – the Champions League in Opta numbers

A
4-1
Premier
League
hammering
at
Watford
was
the
final
straw
for
the
United
board
as
Solskjaer
was
sacked
on
Sunday.

Michael
Carrick
has
stepped
in
to
take
charge
on
an
interim
basis
and
must
rally
the
troops
for
the
clash
between
the
top
two
in
Group
F
at
Estadio
de
la
Ceramica.

CL
FIXTURES
|

RESULTS

Juventus
are
already
assured
of
a
place
in
the
round
of
16
and
Chelsea
will
join
them
in
qualifying
from
Group
H
if
they
avoid
defeat
at
Stamford
Bridge.

Barcelona
take
on
Benfica
in
their
first
Champions
League
match
with
Xavi
as
boss
knowing
a
win
will
see
them
through.

Here,
Stats
Perform
takes
a
look
at
the
key
Opta
data
for
the
fixtures
on
Tuesday.

Villarreal
v
Manchester
United:
Red
Devils
in
troubled
waters
ahead
of
Yellow
Submarine
showdown

Villarreal
have
failed
to
beat
United
in
five
Champions
League
matches,
drawing
four
and
losing
one.

The
LaLiga
side
did
get
the
better
of
the
Red
Devils
in
the
Europa
League
final
last
season
on
penalties,
though,
and
may
never
have
a
better
opportunity
to
consign
them
to
a
defeat
in
Europe’s
premier
club
competition.

Carrick
takes
charge
for
the
first
time
following
Solskjaer’s
departure
and
will
need
United
to
tighten
up
at
the
back
as
they
look
to
end
a
four-match
winless
away
run
in
the
Champions
League.
The
wounded
Premier
League
side
have
not
kept
a
clean
sheet
in
the
competition
this
season.

Chelsea
v
Juventus:
Bianconeri
plotting
another
Italian
job
on
holders

Juventus
could
win
the
group
if
they
halt
Chelsea’s
nine-match
unbeaten
run,
as
they
lead
the
holders
by
three
points.

The
Premier
League
leaders
have
not
lost
since
they
went
down
1-0
to
Juve
in
September
and
they
are
overdue
a
victory
against
Italian
opponents.

Chelsea
have
not
come
out
on
top
in
their
past
four
meetings
against
Italian
teams
and
Juve
could
become
the
first
side
to
record
three
consecutive
wins
over
the
London
club
in
the
Champions
League.

Barcelona
v
Benfica:
Pressure
on
for
Xavi’s
Champions
League
bow

Xavi
celebrated
a
derby
victory
over
Espanyol
in
his
first
game
as
Barcelona
boss
on
Saturday
and
another
win
over
Benfica
will
secure
qualification
from
Group
E.

Third-placed
Benfica
beat
Barca
3-0
in
September
and
will
attempt
to
become
only
the
third
side
to
do
the
double
over
the
Catalan
club
in
the
group
stage,
Dynamo
Kiev
in
1997-98
and
Bayern
Munich
in
1998-99
being
the
others
to
achieve
that
feat.

Barca
are
two
points
ahead
of
Benfica
following
back-to-back
1-0
wins
over
Dynamo
and
are
looking
to
keep
clean
sheets
for
three
consecutive
Champions
League
games
for
the
first
time
since
May
2019.

Sevilla
v
Wolfsburg:
Los
Nervionenses
nearing
last
chance
saloon

Sevilla
dropped
points
when
they
were
held
to
a
2-2
draw
by
Deportivo
Alaves
in
LaLiga
on
Saturday,
and
they
can
ill
afford
to
slip
up
when
they
face
Wolfsburg.

Bottom
of
Group
G
and
without
a
win
from
four
matches,
they
have
not
been
victorious
in
their
past
seven
meetings
with
German
sides,
losing
four
and
drawing
three.

Third-placed
Wolfsburg
have
not
been
a
Spanish
team
away
from
home
in
Europe,
losing
to
Atletico
Madrid
and
Real
Madrid
either
side
of
a
draw
with
Villarreal.

Other
fixtures:

Dynamo
Kiev
v
Bayern
Munich

17
–
Bayern
have
scored
17
goals
in
their
four
Champions
League
matches
this
season,
the
joint
most
by
any
team
after
four
matches
in
a
season
alongside
Paris
Saint
Germain’s
tally
in
2017-18.
Already
through
to
the
round
of
16,
the
Group
E
leaders
have
also
had
the
most
shots
(84)
and
shots
on
target
(34)
of
any
side
this
campaign.

9
–
Dynamo
have
failed
to
score
in
any
Champions
League
matches
this
season,
attempting
just
nine
shots
on
target
–
three
fewer
than
Bayern
striker
Robert
Lewandowski
has
managed
in
2021-22
(12).

Lille
v
Salzburg

43
–
Following
their
2-1
victory
away
at
Sevilla,
Lille
will
be
aiming
to
record
back-to-back
wins
in
the
Champions
League
for
the
very
first
time.
This
will
be
their
43rd
game
in
the
competition.

2
–
Salzburg
have
only
won
two
of
their
previous
12
away
games
in
major
European
competition
(excluding
qualifiers),
drawing
twice
and
losing
eight
times.
These
12
games
have
seen
a
total
of
46
goals
scored
(19
for,
27
against),
at
an
average
of
3.8
per
game.

Malmo
v
Zenit

1
–
Zenit
have
only
won
one
of
their
past
11
games
in
the
Champions
League
(D1
L9).
That
solitary
victory
and
clean
sheet
in
this
run
of
games
came
in
their
last
meeting
with
Malmo
(4-0
in
September).

8
–
If
Malmo
fail
to
score
in
this
game,
they
will
equal
the
record
for
most
consecutive
games
without
finding
the
back
of
the
net
in
the
European
Cup/Champions
League
(currently
on
7).
The
previous
instances
of
a
team
going
eight
games
in
a
row
without
scoring
are
Dinamo
Zagreb
(2016),
Deportivo
La
Coruna
(2004)
and
Avenir
Beggen
(1986).

Young
Boys
v
Atalanta

3
–
Since
winning
three
consecutive
away
Champions
League
games
without
conceding
a
goal
between
October
and
December
2020,
Atalanta
have
failed
to
win
each
of
their
past
three
away
games
in
the
competition
(D1
L2),
conceding
eight
goals
in
the
process.

4
–
Young
Boys
won
their
opening
group
game
against
United
but
have
since
suffered
three
consecutive
defeats
in
the
competition.
Bottom
of
Group
F,
If
they
lose
this
game,
they
will
have
suffered
four
defeats
in
a
row
in
major
European
tournaments
for
the
first
time.