The Red Devils host Juventus in the crunch match day 3 game of the UEFA Champions league in Group B. The Manchester club currently boasts of four points from their opening two games, but the two consecutive legged fixture against the Old Lady has been touted to be the game that will decide whether the Old Trafford side will scale out of the group stages into the knockout stage of the European competition.

Jose Mourinho’s side trashed Swiss side Young Boys in their opening game of the European competition but were held to a goalless draw by Valencia in the second game of the group stages. Now they face Juventus who not only top the group with six points but has Portuguese goal machine Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks. In the event that Manchester United suffers a defeat at Old Trafford, Valencia could likely equal them in points and this could put the Red Devils in a tight corner when the take on one of the title contenders in Turin. Jose Mourinho, who knows the importance of getting results at home will be hoping to avoid such scenario.

Again Valencia is believed to be a strong side in the competition. Despite returning back into action in the current season, the Spanish club have demonstrated their ambitions. The La Maestella team lost to Juve thanks to two penalty kicks, but they were quick to recover with a draw at Old Trafford. The Spanish club matched the Manchester side at the theatre of dream with no fear throughout the encounter, and could rely on the same confidence when they meet on match day six of the group stages.

Manchester United could grab confidence from their recent league outing at Stamford Bridge. The Red Devils put up an impressive performance at the Bridge and it almost brought them three points, if not the stoppage time leveler from Ross Barkley. Why Manchester United boasts of such feats, the Old lady seems to be in a class of their own. Juventus recently dropped their first point of the season last weekend, after a master class performance in both Seria A and UEFA Champions league outing, and will be difficult to beat.

A closer comparison between the two sides shows that Juve’s team are way ahead of Manchester United team in virtually all department. Only in goal can the Red Devils claim to be superior to the Old Lady. Despite De Gea is  favoured over Sczenzy, the Juve’s back four seems miles ahead of the Manchester United under fire defense. Though Pogba has the quality in the middle of the park, Pjanic seems to be more organized and coordinated at the midfield. Juve’s attack is light years ahead of Red Devils toothless attacking trio.

Jose Mourinho however is aware of the stats, but his biggest decision will be the tactical approach to deploy. The Portuguese will have to select a formation that will cripple Juve’s attack including Ronaldo, be flawless in attack and deliver a stable game. Only 90 minutes will decide.