Manchester United are set to welcome Istanbul Basaksehir to Old Trafford on Tuesday night in the fourth game of the 2020-21 Champions League group stage.
Our 100% winning start in Europe ended in Turkey earlier this month with a surprise 1-2 defeat away from home, having beaten both Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig in October.
The weekend’s 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion was the start of 10 consecutive weeks of midweek and weekend action, meaning Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is going to be forced into heavy squad rotation over the coming months and could do with as few injuries and suspensions as possible.
Prior to tomorrow’s game, the boss has been speaking to the media at this afternoon’s pre-match press conference and has given a team news and injury update.
The Norwegian was able to confirm that both Luke Shaw and Phil Jones remain sidelined with injuries, whilst Jesse Lingard is self-isolating.
Paul Pogba missed out on the matchday squad over the weekend, but Ole is hopeful that the midfielder is going to be available, saying:
“We hope he (Pogba) is going to be available. We will see when we report tomorrow. Shaw, Jones out. Lingard is self-isolating after contact with a positive case.”
Eric Bailly and Marcos Rojo only returned to training on Friday, but Tuesday’s game will come too soon for the defenders to make their return.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is hopeful that Luke Shaw will return before the end of the calendar year, adding:
“We hope near to four weeks (out). We can’t risk anything. We will see how he reacts to the programme he is on.”
Alex Telles made his Premier League debut on Saturday at left-back, whilst we also have Brandon Williams as cover during Shaw’s absence.
The manager has hinted at squad rotation for this game, which could even see Bruno Fernandes given a rare rest. Old said:
“Yeah, five subs, it is not a relief, but a chance to rest players earlier. If you want to make subs at half-time you still have a chance to rest players. I like the five subs and I like the size of the squads because you can have more in the squad.
“Bruno, he isn’t going to play every game for sure.”
Manchester United head into Tuesday’s clash joint top of Group H after three games, alongside RB Leipzig on six points, three ahead of both PSG and Istanbul.
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