It is another European midweek of action again and later on this evening, Manchester United welcome Turkish side Galatasaray to Old Trafford for their next Champions League clash, and the visitors will be coming with a well known face in their ranks, Wilfried Zaha.
Having lost their opening Group A game to Bayern Munich, manager Erik ten Hag will be determined to not let their former player depart with a smile on his face, however, it does not seem that Zaha himself harbours a grudge from what can only be described as a nightmare spell at the club.
Having been hand picked by Sir Alex Ferguson back in 2013, his move from Crystal Palace did not go to plan and his face did not fit with subsequent managers and he spent the bulk of his time away from the club on different loan spells. In fact, his United record reads only two starts and two substitute showings before he returned to Selhurst Park on a permanent deal in February 2015.
The now 30 year old was in front of the press as part of the build up to the game, and the Ivory Coast international basically suggested that he was now a better player for the experience as he did not let it derail his career.
“I’ll be honest, when you look at my face do you think I am bothered at all? No. I went through a phase in my career, you either build from it or die. It built my character. I was determined not to let my career die out.”
There is, of course, no reason why Zaha would not treat this just like any other game as since moving on from Manchester he has faced off against them numerous times in his second spell at Crystal Palace.
“It was just a normal league game. I had my past here but I was 19 or 20. When I went back to Palace and had league games against them, it was just work. I felt no different.”
With his Palace contract coming to a natural end over the summer, Zaha opted for a new experience with the Turkish giants, and six games into the newest chapter of his career, he has already found the net for them to open his goal account, and with plenty of Premier League goals to his name, many will be expecting him to add to that tally quite quickly as he continues to settle into life in Turkey, and he will definitely be aiming to take the win tonight to back up their opening Group A draw with Copenhagen the other week.
Kick off is 8pm, and United fans could see Anthony return to action this evening following his brief spell away from the club.