Erik ten Hag, manager of Manchester United, could make three key changes when the Red Devils face Barcelona in the first leg of the Europa League knockout play-off.
The Red Devils travel to Camp Nou on Thursday evening for the first leg, and we expect Ten Hag to make several changes, with some key players returning to the fray.
Raphael Varane was rested in yesterday’s 2-0 Premier League win over Leeds United. The Frenchman is expected to replace Harry Maguire in the starting lineup in midweek.
Maguire’s defensive performance against the Whites was unconvincing. He will almost certainly be dropped from the starting lineup. With Lisandro Martinez suspended, Varane should partner with Luke Shaw in central defense.
Fred had an outstanding midfield performance against Leeds, winning a whopping ten tackles. Despite this, he may be relegated to the bench, with Casemiro set to return to the starting lineup.
Casemiro has been serving his league suspension for the last two games but should be back in the lineup on Thursday given his extensive experience against Barcelona during his time at Real Madrid.
Casemiro and Fred have played together on several occasions this term, but we are fancying Marcel Sabitzer to get the nod alongside the former due to his better creativity in the final third.
In attack, Wout Weghorst could be dropped on the back of another below-par performance.
Weghorst was largely ineffective from the center-forward role on Sunday and only came into the game after playing in the second striker position behind Marcus Rashford towards the end.
The Dutchman bagged himself an assist for Alejandro Garnacho’s splendid goal, but he could make his way to the bench. In our view, Garnacho could start on the left side of the attack.
Rashford has scored a headed goal in each of the last two games since moving to the center of the field. The England international should be favored to spearhead the attack against the Catalan giants.
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