12 February 2019, by: BET Contributer

MANCHESTER UNITED TO PAINT OLD TRAFFORD RED

Are giddy United fans set for more pleasure as they prepare to watch their side host free-spending French giants PSG?

It’s an appetising prospect for sure. One a resurgent giant looking to awake from a Mourinho-managed slumber against a rich bully on the wrong side of some ill-timed injuries.

No Neymar. No Cavani. Does that mean no success for the “French” as they head into Tuesday’s round of 16 tie at Old Trafford?

The numbers, in a staggering turn of events post-Jose Mourinho, would appear to favour the Red Devils. They have their swagger back, they have Paul Pogba doing whatever the latest fad dance is and they are even keeping a few clean sheets.

The “Ole effect” has been staggering. Not in that he’s turned the team around tactically. Rather, by allowing the team the freedom to attack, he has turned an under-performing squad into one of Europe’s form sides. And that’s bad news for PSG. United are scoring goals freely and while they still have many defensive issues, the success at the other end of the pitch has also sparked a return to form for David De Gea.

The stats paint a damning picture for what was happening before Mourinho was dumped and the turnaround since Solskjaer took over

Pogba has scored eight goals and provided five assists in his past 10 games. Marcus Rashford has six goals from eight starts since they axed Mourinho. Victor Lindelof has played 10 games under Solskjaer with United’s goals conceded dropping from 1.5 per game before Jose’s departure to 0.6.

But the truth is, United are now riding the wave of momentum and somehow have a fresher squad in better form. There’s hardly a United player out of form at the minute and with another easy Premier League win on the weekend, Solskjaer simply has to continue doing what he’s done since assuming the top job; instill the sense of confidence and set out the team to play fast, attacking football.

?? The UEFA Champions League makes its way back to our screens tomorrow ?#UCL pic.twitter.com/nsqZGIxY6Z

— SuperSport (@SuperSportTV) February 11, 2019

He’s made an incredibly tough job look easy, passed acid tests away at Spurs and Arsenal and given little reason to doubt an implosion is around the corner.

PSG have bounced back from their early February loss away to Lyon but the same frailties in their game exist. They do not have a rich history of success in the latter parts of this competition and with the demand to succeed ramped up every year they don’t, they start Tuesday on the back foot with overbearing expectations from the board down.

You can make more than your money back on United winning 1.25 while a 2-0 home win is another tantalising offer 11.00.

A relatively low-risk option is the game to produce over 2.5 goals – anyone thinking 2-1 to the hosts? – and that’ll pay 0.70.

Any way you go, Tuesday promises to be a spectacle with the volume turned right up. The home side are in imperious form and their guests will not simply allow themselves to be overrun. This one should be anything but a tactical masterclass but rather an all-out attack without consequence. It’s going to be plenty of fun!

BET: Manchester United v Paris Saint-Germain

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BET Contributor