It's been a bad weekend for away teams in the Premier League, with only Leicester City (UPDATE: and Crystal Palace) earning a point on their travels on Saturday (in early-season relegation battles), and both Manchester City and Arsenal suffering shock defeats, to Bournemouth and Newcastle, respectively.
So the prospect of going to Old Trafford, where we have not won in our last eleven tries despite facing, at times, some truly shocking opposition, doesn't sound too enticing right now.
(Rafa Benitez the last Chelsea manager to win there.
)But we have earned more points on our travels in the league so far than at home - also shocking - so perhaps we can continue that trend as we take on a team in-between managers at the moment.
"We didn't win there since 2013? Hopefully it is a good time [to be playing them].
That shows how difficult that stadium is; not only for us but for every club.
"-Enzo Maresca; source: Football.
London Date / Time: Sunday, November 3, 16.
30 GMT; 11:30am EST; 10pm ISTVenue: Old Trafford, Greater ManchesterReferee: Robert Jones (on pitch); Michael Salisbury (VAR)Forecast: overcast; winter is comingOn TV: Sky Sport Main Event (UK); USA, Telemundo (USA); Star Sports Select HD1 (India); SuperSport Premier League, Canal+ Sport 3 (NGA); elsewhereStreaming: Sky Go (UK); NBC Sports Live, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (USA); Disney+ Hotstar (India); DStv Now (NGA)Still, he won his first game in charge midweek in the League Cup, when a nearly full-strength United easily dispatched a rotated Leicester City, 5-2.
United have had to deal with a few injuries this year, and are among the league-leaders in that category.
Currently they are without Kobbie Mainoo, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw (surprise!), Antony, Tyrell Malacia, Leny Yoro, and yes, Mason Mount, too.
He's managed just four minutes (plus a good chunk of stoppage time) against us, and 25 appearances overall since leaving.
Enzo Maresca seems pretty happy with his Caicedo-Lavia double-six setup that has Malo Gusto inverting into attacking midfield, though he does have a propensity to get too cute for his own good with all this tactical galaxy-braining.
Then again, Cole Palmer can single-handedly win a game regardless of any setup shenanigans, and Nicolas Jackson is starting to become a dominant force in leading our line, so goals are almost always on the menu.
In fact, the 2-0 on Wednesday was the first time in any competition since opening day that we've failed to score at least one goal.
Of course, we tend to need more than just one - just 2 clean sheets (in 9) in the league, 4 (in 15) in all competitions and none in our last seven - but hey, it's a work in progress, right?Jadon Sancho is the only first-team player not available, ineligible against his parent club and having missed midweek through illness anyway.
Previously: Our last win at Old Trafford came in 2013, but we did beat United the last time we played, in what was one of the most entertaining games of last season.
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