After being humiliated by Aston Villa on Sunday, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag will need to make changes for Thursday’s Carabao Cup meeting against the Midlands club.
At Villa Park, the concept of employing Cristiano Ronaldo as a target man was a colossal disaster, as the Portuguese were utterly dominated by Villa’s Tyrone Mings.
Given that Anthony Martial played in that game, we expect him to be recalled to the center forward position, with the 37-year-old dropping to the bench.
The fitness of Antony, who has missed three games owing to a slight injury, and Jadon Sancho, who has been unwell, will determine the wing positions.
Sancho is perhaps the most likely of the two to have recovered on time, so we predict Marcus Rashford will return to the left wing and Sancho will play on the right, with Alejandro Garnacho dropping to the bench.
Garnacho has been excellent but due to his age, it is asking a lot to expect him to play another 90 minutes.
If Antony is fit, he would replace Sancho on the right in our lineup.
In defense, Luke Shaw struggled against Villa and was replaced by Tyrell Malacia despite the fact that it was his shot that was deflected for United’s only goal. The drop-off in Shaw’s performance could mean that Malacia gets the start on Thursday.
On the other flank, Diogo Dalot will almost certainly continue as he is suspended for Sunday’s Premier League match with Fulham.
Despite shipping three goals, we expect Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof will continue at center back although Harry Maguire will be hoping for another chance.
Christian Eriksen and Casemiro should continue as the first-choice defensive midfield, with Bruno Fernandes returning ahead of them after serving a one-match suspension. Donny van de Beek will drop to the bench.
David de Gea will undoubtedly be in goal.
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