Manchester United will be looking to make it three wins from three games to start the new Premier League season when we host Leicester City in Saturday’s evening kickoff.
Leicester bounced back from their opening day defeat at Arsenal to beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 at the King Power Stadium last weekend.
Here is the team I think Jose Mourinho will start:
David de Gea
The Spaniard has kept two clean sheets in his first two matches but has only had a single shot to save in each of those. Saturday’s visitors are expected to offer much more threat to our goal having scored five goals in their opening two matches.
Antonio Valencia
Our Ecuadorian right-back should be dealing with Marc Albrighton on Saturday. The Leicester winger is right footed so look out for him to cut inside. Antonio Valencia will also be taking every opportunity to attack, offering good width down the right as usual.
Phil Jones
Has been solid in his opening two matches so there’s no reason for Phil Jones to be benched. The England international is keeping Victor Lindelof out of the first team. Could be in for a busier day than he’s seen so far as Jamie Vardy is a busy worker up front for our opponents and makes good runs off the ball.
Eric Bailly
Eric Bailly will continue to be the rock in the centre of our defence. He’ll give Vardy a game that’s for sure. Leicester do like to start with two strikers so our pair at the back can expect to be in for a busy evening.
Daley Blind
The Dutch international needs to be careful of Riyad Mahrez down the wing cutting in on his strong foot. The Algerian appears to be set to stay with the Foxes again this season and has a good long range shot on him as well as being good at crossing the ball.
Nemanja Matic
Turning out to be one of the summer’s best signings and we’re only two games into the season. Nemanja Matic has had the most touches in both of our games so far and should be looking for similar on Saturday. Leicester are likely to start with two holding midfielders in their 4-4-2 formation – Wilfried Ndidi and Matty James.
Paul Pogba
Two defensive midfielders for the opposition means Paul Pogba should be able to venture forward with some freedom as Leicester’s main threats come from the wings and two strikers. The French international should help the team dominate possession and hopefully free up some space for Henrikh Mkhitaryan around the penalty area.
Juan Mata
Our Spanish playmaker has started both games so far and I don’t expect the boss to drop Juan Mata for Ander Herrera just yet. We should be looking to attack the wings with the likes of Juan Mata to bring their holding midfielders out of position. This doesn’t mean Jesse Lingard needs to start either.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Four assists in his opening two matches you can be sure Henrikh Mkhitaryan starts on Saturday. The Armenian has been excellent at drifting into the space between defence and midfield in his first two games so let’s hope that continues. He has the ability to pass the ball around their slow centre-back Wes Morgan to find Romelu Lukaku in space whilst is more than capable of scoring himself.
Marcus Rashford
Despite Anthony Martial coming on to score in each of our first two games I think Marcus Rashford will retain his place in the starting XI. The youngster has torn both Pablo Zabaleta and Kyle Naughton apart in our first two games and should have the beating of Danny Simpson again this weekend. Tire the defence out and then bring on a fresh Anthony Martial to take advantage…
Romelu Lukaku
Three goals in his first two Premier League games for us and a favourable matchup on Saturday. Romelu Lukaku faces a defence that shipped four versus Arsenal and will be supplied from the likes of Mata, Mkhitaryan and Pogba. Harry Maguire and Wes Morgan are capable of dealing with him in the air but I see the Belgian target man wining the battles on the ground.
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This is how I see us lining up:
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