His side were unbeaten against United on the three occasions they played during the 2018/19 campaign, but Nuno believes the results his side achieved last season will have no impact going into the game tonight.
On a different Manchester United
“It’s going to be a tough challenge, a new game, totally different to what we did in the past which doesn’t count at all.
“First of all, the players know they’re going to face a very tough opponent; a fantastic club, a fantastic squad, fantastic players, talent all over the place. All the good players in all the good teams can make a difference. We want to compete. We want to play.
“We know it’s going to be very difficult for us, but we will be ready. That’s the important part, we will be ready.”
On preparing for United
“It’s not a different build-up, it’s exactly the same. We’re going to prepare exactly the same as we prepared against Pyunik. It was exactly the same approach, exactly the same idea, the same preparation, the same meeting – all these things are the same because all the games are the same.
“They are not easy, they are difficult games; they are games to be played.”
On team selection for Monday night
“We made a decision (on squad selection against Pyunik), we never know who’s going to play on Monday. We’re going to prepare it now.
“The boys are working, trying to level the squad in terms of minutes on the pitch, which is very important, we have opportunities to give the boys space to express themselves, so we create new solutions and new options.
“We’ve always done this (rotated his team), since the first year – we had 16-year-olds playing against Man City, that makes us proud.
“With everybody being healthy is the best thing that we have. We have a lot of decisions to make.
“I think we are balanced. It’s a small squad, we have the back-ups of the under-23s and we have boys coming, so it’s a big job that we have in hand.
“We saw in the Asia Trophy that there are people behind that we can count on, and it’s good. It’s a building process, not only about the squad, it’s about the club, it’s about the idea, the identity – we want to create an identity and it’s a big step.”
On belief in young players
“The same that I have of the older players. Exactly the same. They have confidence, totally confident because they are players who work, they know how to do things, and my job is to get the best out of them and that will require a lot from us.”
On players coping with multiple competitions
“All the games that have gone before, I’m very proud. This is the start of a new season, with different challenges, that we want to embrace, so it will require much more from us, we’ll have to work harder and better.
“But of course, I’m proud because having all the squad available and options and people wanting to perform and compete, that’s the idea.”
On Molineux atmosphere
“The fans were here against Pyunik; 30,000, almost sold out, and we expect more on Monday. Those that are missing can come and help, because support of Molineux gives us so much, we enjoy so much playing here that we have to go again
“Together – us in the pitch, them in the stands. Pushing. That’s the idea of a big, big pack.”
