Published on 09:58 AM, November 08, 2023

Ten Hag under pressure

Manchester United are in desperate need of a win at FC Copenhagen in the Champions League on Wednesday as they battle to avoid an embarrassing group-stage exit.

The three-time European champions sneaked past the Danish side 1-0 at Old Trafford last month thanks to a last-gasp penalty save from goalkeeper Andre Onana.

Heavy defeats by Manchester City and Newcastle have since ramped up the pressure on manager Erik ten Hag, which was only eased slightly by a 1-0 win at Fulham on Saturday.

United are third in Group A, six points behind leaders Bayern Munich and one adrift of Galatasaray.

If they fail to win in Copenhagen, Galatasaray could be in a position knock United out when the sides meet in Istanbul on November 29.

Napoli vs Union Berlin

Union Berlin coach Urs Fischer is desperate for a change of fortune after his team slipped to a ninth consecutive defeat in all competition on Matchday 3.

"We put in so much to restrict them to just one shot on goal, and we still lost 1-0. Despite that, we did a lot well. We weren't missing too much today," he said.

Napoli have not quite rediscovered last season's form either but there are signs the likes of Matteo Politano and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are getting back to their best, kicker saying the latter's "individual actions made all the difference" during that victory in the reverse fixture.

Bayern vs Galatasaray

Patience has been a virtue for Bayern in recent weeks. Speaking after the reverse fixture, which Bayern won 3-1, goalscorer Kingsley Coman noted: "It wasn't easy because they created a lot of pressure, but there was more space in the second half and I think that's why we scored more after the break."

To underline the point, Thomas Tuchel's men ran in eight second-half goals in their next outing against Darmstadt.

Arsenal vs Sevilla

Gabriel Jesus has also struck in all three group matches and thinks Mikel Arteta's men are standing up to the challenges they are facing in their first Champions League campaign since 2016/17.

"It isn't easy to play with the courage we have on the big stage," he said, although the striker faces a spell on the sidelines after suffering a late thigh injury in Spain. "This gives us confidence but at the same time we want more."

Real Madrid vs Braga

Braga gave the Spanish giants a run for their money on Matchday 3 but, with three points from three games, coach Artur Jorge is aware qualification is difficult. "We are still in the fight but we have two difficult trips [Real Madrid and Napoli] next. But we have already shown that we are here to fight, like the warriors that we are."

To spring an upset, they will need to quell Jude Bellingham, who scored in the reverse fixture then got two more as Madrid won El Clasico on 28 October.

Salzburg vs Inter

"We can be proud of our performance, that's what we are capable of. From the first second we played bravely and with confidence, we caused them problems again and again," was the assessment of goalkeeper Alexander Schlager after Salzburg were edged out 2-1 in Milan.

Inter will reach the last 16 if they win here as a result but coach Simone Inzaghi is taking nothing for granted.