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Man Utd news: Why Tottenham are more likely to win Champions League than United - Balague
MANCHESTER UNITED will fight for the Premier League title this season and may prioritise that competition over the Champions League.
That is the opinion of European football expert and BT Sport pundit Guillem Balague.
Manchester United start their Champions League campaign tonight with a trip to Switzerland to face Young Boys (8pm).
Jose Mourinho’s side had a disappointing tournament last season, crashing out to Sevilla in the last-16.
Ahead of Tottenham’s opening group game against Inter Milan yesterday, where they lost 2-1, Spurs were more likely with some bookies to win the Champions League outright than United.
At some point maybe they can put their focus on the Champions League, unlike Manchester United
Balague claimed that was partly because Spurs, even though they exited the competition at the same stage as United, had a better campaign than the Red Devils last season.
The expert also reckons Tottenham will struggle to finish in the Premier League top four this term, so may turn their focus onto the European competition.
And Balague thinks that may mean Spurs do better than United, who will prioritise trying to win the Premier League.
“Does that mean that Man United have a less chance of winning the Champions League than Spurs?” Balague said on BT Sport.
“Probably neither of them will win it.
“But if you look at last season’s competition, you saw Man United losing against a Sevilla that was poor at the time.
“But Juventus, winning against Spurs, a Spurs who deserved more.
“From that point of view, you could perhaps say that Spurs had a better run in the Champions League.
“But there is something else - Manchester United will fight for the league this year.
“It will be a miracle if Spurs manage to get top four.
“At some point maybe they can put their focus on the Champions League, unlike Manchester United.”