Man Utd v Sheriff Tiraspol preview: Ronaldo makes return for Red Devils

Another late goal for Manchester United earned them a 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Saturday, coming soon after their injury-time Europa League winner against Omonia Nicosia (W 1-0).

Although almost assured of a knockout play-off round place, they’ll want to beat Sheriff Tiraspol in their penultimate group game as they aim to top the group ahead of Real Sociedad, whom they trail by three points but play on matchday six.

While Cristiano Ronaldo (37) seems likely to be leaving the club, a bigger blow could be the loss of defender Raphaël Varane through injury, particularly as both Man United’s Europa League home games this term were decided by a single goal (W1, L1). As he’s helped the Red Devils keep three consecutive clean sheets at home (W2, D1), manager Erik ten Hag could have done without this disruption to his backline as the games come thick and fast.

Any changes he’s forced into might offer Sheriff (W1, L3) a shred of opportunity as they must win by at least two goals to keep their slim chances of a top-two finish alive. They’ve underwhelmed compared to last term’s breakout European campaign but are still on course for the UEFA Europa Conference League via a third-place finish.

They top the Moldovan Super Liga but have struggled in Europe, particularly on the road as they’ve only won one of their last five UEL away games (D2, L2), with that victory coming against Group E strugglers Omonia. Their only previous trip to England won’t inspire much confidence either after they lost 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur in 2013/14.

Players to watch: Each of Marcus Rashford’s (24) last 11 goals for Man United came after the 50th minute while Sheriff’s Rasheed Akanbi (23) might be more likely to net early as three of his last four goals arrived before the 30th minute.

Hot stat: After matchday four, Man United had collected an average of 1.25 yellow cards per Europa League game this term.