Manchester United will aim to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat in their opening match of the Europa League when they face Sheriff Tiraspol tomorrow.
The Group E clash, in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau, will be the first ever meeting between the two clubs and it will also be a chance for Erik ten Hag’s side to get their first points on the board in the competition after losing to Real Sociedad last week.
United had been flying in the Premier League before coming unstuck against Sociedad. They had beaten Arsenal, Liverpool, Southampton and Leicester having initially lost their opening two games of the season.
They were expected to win the home clash last week but lost to a controversial second half Brais Mendez penalty in a match they bossed without the likes of Raphael Varane, Scott McTominay and Marcus Rashford. Casemiro got his first start since his arrival from Real Madrid but the Brazilian looked well off the pace.
Ruled out
Ten Hag will now shift his focus on the match against Sheriff at the Zimbru Stadium and could be forced to shuffle his pack as Anthony Martial, Donny van de Beek and Facundo Pellistri have been ruled out through injury.
Luke Shaw is back in training following a lay off but will be short of match fitness so the coach may again have to hand starts to the likes of Alejandro Garnacho who came on for his European debut in the Old Trafford encounter last Thursday. Charlie McNeill could also start having been brought on against Sociedad in the closing stages.
The trip to Sheriff will be their last match before the international break and Ten Hag will want a win otherwise the pressure on the new coach will be back on considering only the group winners go through to the knockout stage automatically. The second-placed team will need to play off against a club cashiered from the Champions League.
Moldovan champions Sheriff followed up their impressive 3-0 away win at Omonia Nicosia on matchday one with a 2-0 home triumph over Milsami in their domestic top flight, over the weekend. They will look to their attackers Pernambuco from Brazil and Iyayi Believe Atiemwen from Nigeria to ruffle United’s feathers.
They will be trying to prove that their European nous is still well and truly alive after making waves in the Champions League last season.
