Rangnick’s reserves to tame injury-hit Young Boys

United stars eager to impress new manager should easily beat struggling Swiss

Ralf Rangnick’s reign as Manchester United got underway in earnest on Sunday with a 1-0 home win over Crystal Palace. The Old Trafford crowd had to be patient but ultimately saw their side secure three Premier League points thanks to a strike from the unlikely source of Fred.

The German finds himself in a new post because of the collapse in United’s fortunes under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, which began when they were defeated 2-1 in Switzerland by Young Boys, who they face in their final Champions League group stage match at Old Trafford.

Despite United’s struggles, they have been dragged through to the knockout phase largely thanks to the brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese has made decisive late contributions in all the last four matches and has six goals in five appearances in the competition this season.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, however, may need to content himself to watching this match from the stands. With first place already secured, this represents a unique opportunity for Rangnick to assess his full squad under little pressure ahead of the busy Christmas period.

Jesse Lingard, Donny van de Beek, and others who were restricted in minutes under Solskjaer, could be given their chances to impress here.

Young Boys, big problems

Young Boys’ 2-1 victory over Manchester United on Matchday 1 of the Champions League has been a rare source of joy in what has been a disappointing campaign for them.

Jordan Siebatcheu took advantage of the largesse of Jesse Lingard and the Red Devils’ defence five minutes in second-half stoppage time at the Wankdorf Stadium back in September to fire the Swiss champions to a historic 2-1 win.

Their prospects of repeating their domestic success, though, are limited. David Wagner’s side are fourth in the Swiss Super League, nine points back from leaders FC Zurich, albeit having played one game fewer.

The Swiss side suffered another major setback at the weekend as they were defeated 2-1 by Servette, playing the second half with 10 men after Christopher Martins was sent off.

They are presently buckling under an injury crisis, with as many as nine players likely to miss this trip. Among the stricken ranks are goalkeeper David van Ballmoos, dashing left-back Ulisses Garcia and the prolific Jean-Pierre Nsame, who has not played this season due to an Achilles rupture.

There remains, however, an outside prospect of European progress, albeit into the Europa League. To achieve that, though, they would have to win at Old Trafford and hope Villarreal beat Sevilla.

Man United celebrate Fred's stunning winner against Crystal Palace

United to build momentum

Manchester United are priced at 1.43 by Smarkets to win this match. There may not be pressure on the players to get a result, but there certainly is to win favour with Rangnick, and that should be sufficient motivation to see a second home win for the German in a matter of three days.

Additionally, on the Asian handicap market, Smarkets have priced United to have a 50% chance of winning by more than 1.5 goals.

Ravaged by injury problems and struggling against far more modest opponents, Young Boys are priced as 8.4 outsiders to do the double over Man Utd. Certainly, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play at Old Trafford for many of these players should be inspiration enough to be at their best, but the danger is that they are simply outclassed.

The draw, meanwhile, is available at 5.2.  

Greenwood to strike

Mason Greenwood has had a frustrating campaign to date. Despite scoring in the first three games of the Premier League season, he has subsequently only managed one.

He made his return from a Covid-19 infection at the weekend by playing half an hour off the bench against Crystal Palace and supplied the assist for Fred’s winner. Fitness-providing, he is likely to be a player that Rangnick wants to see more of. 

Greenwood is priced 2.7 to score anytime, while he is available at 7.2 in the first scorer market. 

Ronaldo, naturally, is well backed in this regard. The striker, who has netted in every Champions League game he has played this season, is on offer at 3.65 to net the opening goal, while he is 1.64 to continue his streak in Europe’s top club competition. It will be hard to back against him if he takes to the field.