Evening all, and welcome to Manchester United (1) v (1) Club Brugge!

In the studio, Paul Scholes is praising Bruno Fernandes, saying he knows where he is on the pitch, has good awareness, and strikers know he'll be looking for them. He's just what United were missing, and Owen Hargreaves chips in to agree. What's really impressive about him is his attitude: he's not scared to get stuck in, nor to give out to his team-mates when they need it. It's only been a few games, but he looks to be serious.

Solskjaer tells BT that Ighalo has been desperate to get a start, and Bailly was excellent against Chelsea but they've managed him since then. Martial has a muscle injury and Solksjaer hopes he'll make the weekend but isn't sure. He says Brugge are quick and good on the counter, so United will need to be focused.

This is an important night for Daniel James, who's without a goal since August. He's looked tired, and is in danger of losing his place to Mason Greenwood at some point. United need him to make things happen tonight, and to show for Fernandes.

Elsewhere: Wolves are 2-1 down away to Espnayol, but won the first leg 4-0, so. Otherwise, Wolfsburg are getting rid of Malmo, LASK will see off AZ and Basel are well ahead of Apoel. Otheriwse, Istanbul Basaksehir need a goal to force extra-time against Sporting and Gent need to do likewise against Roma. There are eight minutes left in both games.

So, Ighalo then. Signing him actually makes a fair bit of sense. United are into getting a striker, as evidenced by the pursuit of Haaland, but when they couldn't get him, weren't inclined to chuck money at the wrong player given the desperate need was only until Rashford gets fit. If Ighalo works, they've done well, and if he doesn't then they've not sunk a load of cash into someone they can't shift. He's looked lively so far, but with better finishing would have scored twice already. One of my reservations when United signed him was him getting minutes that ought to have gone to Greenwood, and these are they.

Impossible not to do a double-take seeing Ighalo's name on the back of a United shirt, never mind Antonio Valencia's legendary number 25. I doubt even he can believe it.

Martial walked off in training yesterday, so he's injured, but Solskjaer doesn't know how bad it is. He hopes it's nothing about which to be concerned.

Back in the day, the Uefa Cup was almost as hard to win as the European Cup. Obviously it was easier to qualify for, but once there, you had three or four teams from the best leagues, various of whom ended up being champions of their country in that season though they weren't in the previous one, and some guaranteed difficult away fixtures. And this season it's tough too, nothing like when United won it with Jose Mourinho in 2016. There's Arsenal and Wolves, both of whom have given United grief this season, then Inter, Ajax or Getafe, Roma, Sevilla and Leverkusen, any of whom could beat united this season.

Something I'll never, ever grasp: brown shoes. Well, any kind of shoes really - flip-flops or trainers are the only acceptable footwear. But brown shoes. No,

Just as long as it's not raining, with water gushing onto seats.

As for Brugge, the headline news is that Dennis, the best player on the pitch in the first leg who is wanted, so the rumour goes, by Borussia Dortmund to replace Jadon Sancho, is injured. He's a huge miss, especially as his team will expect to play largely on the counter.

this s more or less the team I expected United to pick. Anthony Martial is too important to risk in a game they should win without him, but I'm surprised he's not on the bench in case of emergency - perhaps he's carrying something. We'll find out. I also thought Wan-Bissaka would be rested, but he missed the first leg and a clean sheet here sees United through however impotent they are in attack, so his inclusion makes sense. In midfield, Scott McTominay makes his first start since Boxing Day - United have seriously missed him, and with him, Fred and Fernandes, have as close to a midfield as they've had for years - and Odion Ighalo makes his first start. Also worthy of note is the presence in the starting XI of Eric Bailly, who was so impressive at Chelsea. I'm pretty sure Solskjaer would, eventually, like him or Axel Tuanzebe to partner Harry Maguire, and this is another step on that road.

Let's have some teams...

In theory, this should be a routine game for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's band of oddballs, except his team don't work like that. They beat teams who're meant to beat them and struggle against everyone else. However, there've been signs lately that they've finally worked out how to play against teams who defend - Bruno Fernandes has helped a lot, but even before him, they walloped Norwich, Newcastle, Partizan and Astana - so will expect to win tonight and win well. We'll see....