
Manchester United will be looking to bounce back from our shock EFL Cup exit on Wednesday when we take on Leicester City at the King Power Stadium in the final Premier League game before Christmas.
We start the weekend 11 points behind runaway leaders Manchester City and three ahead of Chelsea in third.
Injuries and suspensions have been an issue of late, which is particularly bad timing during the busy Christmas period.
Here is the team I think Jose Mourinho will field at Leicester:
Goalkeeper: David de Gea
Our first-choice goalkeeper was rested for the trip to Bristol City midweek but David de Gea will return to the starting lineup on Saturday evening. The Spaniard has kept the most clean sheets in the Premier League so far this season.
Defence: Antonio Valencia, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Ashley Young
Jose Mourinho made a number of changes midweek so the first choice back four should be fresh to start this one. Antonio Valencia did pick up a minor hamstring injury in the win at West Brom last weekend but early reports suggest the captain will be fit to start this one in place of Matteo Darmian, who had a nightmare midweek. Chris Smalling and Phil Jones will continue their centre-back partnership with Eric Bailly expected to be out for up to three months. Luke Shaw started midweek so Ashley Young returns at left-back this weekend.
Midfield: Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic; Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford
Paul Pogba returned from suspension midweek and I think we’ll see him start alongside Nemanja Matic at Leicester instead of the number 10 role. I don’t believe Ander Herrera has done enough to impress the boss to keep his place in the starting lineup. Nemanja Matic got a much deserved rest in the cup to freshen him up for tomorrow’s game. Should Pogba start alongside Matic then Jesse Lingard will be the number 10 having impressed in a couple of games recently in this role. Juan Mata was on the bench at Bristol City so I see him returning to the starting lineup for this one. It’s 50-50 between Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial to start down the left.
Striker: Romelu Lukaku
The Belgian came off the bench for the final 30 minutes on Wednesday and looked very determined to score, forcing three saves out of Luke Steele in the Bristol City goal. Zlatan Ibrahimovic won’t be fit to start two games in a couple of days so you can expect Romelu Lukaku to resume his usual role as the striker in this game.
Here is our team on paper:

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