After a quite long break, UEFA Champions League football returns to the bright screens of football fans. This week, 16 matches of the third round will be played in Groups A-H. Already on Tuesday, a highly anticipated match between "Manchester United" and Turin's "Juventus" clubs is set to take place right after the draw ceremony. This clash is particularly awaited for one reason - Cristiano Ronaldo is returning to "Old Trafford." For Ronaldo, this will be his first Champions League match after receiving a red card against "Valencia." Both teams in Group H are positioned as predicted before the start of the tournament - "Juventus" lead the group with two wins, while "United" have 4 points after their draws with "Valencia." The 90-minute battle in Manchester will kick-off at 22:00 Lithuanian time. Teams' Results This season, Cristiano Ronaldo's presence in "Juventus" seems more promising. Over the weekend, the "Old Lady" failed to secure a victory for the first time in the season. On the other hand, the somewhat troubled "Man Utd" has been showing better gameplay recently, giving hope to the fans before this clash. The "Red Devils" had a challenging match at the "Stamford Bridge" stadium over the weekend. "Man Utd" took the lead against London's "Chelsea" after Anthony Martial's double, but a late Ross Barkley goal secured a draw - 2:2. Before the international break, "Man Utd" managed to secure a victory against "Newcastle" after a tough fight - 3:2. Prior to that, the Manchester team had a string of unsuccessful matches - draws with "Valencia" and losses to "West Ham" and "Derby County." In their last five matches, "United" managed to keep a clean sheet only against "Valencia," conceding at least two goals in the other matches. Their attacking form has been improving, with two goals against "Chelsea" and three against "Newcastle." "Juventus" form this season has been enviable, with the unexpected loss against "Genoa" being their only setback over the weekend. Before that, "Juve" had a successful run in both "Serie A" and the Champions League. The Turin team managed to keep a clean sheet in three out of their last five matches - victories against "Udinese" (2:0), "Young Boys" (3:0), and "Bologna" (2:0). They also defeated "Napoli," but conceded a goal in that match - 3:1. In the "Serie A" championship, "Juventus" currently leads with a four-point advantage over their closest rivals. "Man Utd," on the other hand, is struggling in the league due to a difficult start to the season, occupying the tenth position. Teams' News It is clear that "Man Utd" will be without Alexis Sanchez due to a minor injury for this clash against "Chelsea." Argentine Marcos Rojo remains on the list of injured players. According to the official uefa.com website, it is uncertain whether Diogo Dalot, Marouane Fellaini, Phil Jones, Victor Lindelof, Jesse Lingard, Scott McTominay, and Antonio Valencia will be available for selection. Therefore, there are doubts about the players' fitness in the "Man Utd" camp. It is expected that Jose Mourinho will deploy a similar lineup against "Juventus" as he did against "Chelsea." The defensive line will consist of Paul Pogba, Fred, and Nemanja Matic. In attack, Romelu Lukaku will be supported by Marcus Rashford and the in-form Anthony Martial. In the "Juventus" camp, there are also some concerns - Emre Can, Sami Khedira, Mario Mandzukic, and a less important player Leonardo Spinazzola will definitely miss the match at "Old Trafford." Massimiliano Allegri is expected to maintain the usual 4-3-3 formation. Predicted Lineups: "Man Utd" (4-3-3): De Gea; Young, Smalling, Bailly, Shaw; Fred, Matic, Pogba; Rashford, Lukaku, Martial. "Juventus" (4-3-3): Szczesny; Cancelo, Bonucci, Chiellini, Alex Sandro; Bentancur, Pjanic, Matuidi; Bernardeschi, Dybala, Ronaldo. Interesting Facts Former "Juventus" player Paul Pogba has been directly involved in all of "Man Utd" goals in the Champions League this season - including assists and two goals. This will be his first match against his former team. The defensive struggles of "Man Utd" in England are not present in the Champions League - they kept clean sheets against both "Young Boys" and "Valencia." Keeping a clean sheet after the first three group stage matches has not been achieved by "United" in the 2008-09 and 2010-11 seasons when the club reached the final. In the group stage of the Champions League, "Juventus" has lost only two out of the last 23 matches played - 14 wins and seven draws. Both losses came against opponents from Spain. "Man Utd" and "Juventus" have faced each other a total of 12 times - both clubs have celebrated victory five times, and the matches ended in two draws. "The Red Devils" have never played more times against any other team in Europe. Ajax's defender Hakim Ziyech (12) has attempted more shots without scoring a goal than Marcus Rashford (9) in this Champions League season. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored five goals and provided two assists in the Champions League against his former clubs in six matches. The last time he faced "Man Utd" in the CL was in the 2012-13 season - he scored a goal in both Madrid and Manchester.
