A trip to Leicester City’s King Power stadium awaits Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United side tomorrow as they look to bounce back from a run of disappointing results.
Centre-back Raphael Varane picked up a groin injury playing for France in the Nations League final against Spain and will be out for ‘a few weeks’, joining captain Harry Maguire on the sidelines.
Maguire is back in light training but has not as yet trained with the team, so although it would not be unlike Solskjaer to spring a surprise, the chances of him playing are said to be almost zero.
The pair’s absence means it is almost certain that Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof will be at the heart of the defence, with the long-awaited return of Phil Jones drawing closer as he is likely to be their backup on the bench.
David de Gea, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw should complete the defence.
In midfield, Fred is likely to be rested having played in Brazil’s 4-1 thrashing of Uruguay in Manaus this morning. Even though Brazil is now off the red list, the turnaround and travelling means it is highly unlikely the Brazilian will start tomorrow’s game. The same goes for Edinson Cavani, who also played in the same tie.
Marcus Rashford is available for selection after his return from shoulder surgery. Like Maguire, he is another player who Solskjaer likes to pick no matter what, so he could go straight back into the starting line-up. However, it would make much more sense for him to be given 30 minutes off the bench, so we expect Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood to occupy the flanks.
Sancho performed well for England in the week and should be brimming with confidence, so if Rashford were to start, it is more likely that Greenwood would make way.
This leaves a likely midfield duo of Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay, with Bruno Fernandes ahead of them and Cristiano Ronaldo up front.
All four enjoyed successful international breaks, with Pogba picking up the inaugural Nations League trophy and McTominay, Fernandes and Ronaldo all having scored for their countries. Ronaldo bagged a hat-trick for Portugal against Luxembourg on Tuesday.
With all this in mind, here is our predicted line-up for the game:
I suggest Rashford should start the game and if Cavani is available, should come in alongside Christiano.Ole should never substitute Ronaldo, Sancho or Greenwood can always be substituted.