Manchester United kickstart their Europa League campaign on Thursday night when Kazakhstan champions Astana make the trip to Old Trafford. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer witnessed the club return to winning ways last weekend with a hard-fought 1-0 triumph over Leicester City and he may now consider resting a few regulars with an opportunity to test the young and fringe players in the squad.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Predicted Lineup:
Sergio Romero was the Europa League goalkeeper when United won the competition two years ago. The Argentine could be handed with another similar run with David de Gea remaining the undisputed choice for the Premier League duties.
In the defence, Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka have excelled since their summer arrivals but Solskjaer may consider offering them with a breather ahead of the weekend league trip to West Ham United. We are anticipating Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe to take their places in the starting lineup.
In the centre of the park, Scott McTominay should certainly make the starting XI after being ever-present during the opening phase of the campaign. With Paul Pogba still a major injury doubt, Fred could be handed his maiden start of the season after livening things up during the final 20 minutes of the Foxes clash.
Further forward, Daniel James should once more feature on the left side of the attack and the Welshman has shown already that he can cope with the intensity of Premier League football after contributing three goals from the opening five games.
Elsewhere, there could be opportunities for Tahith Chong and Mason Greenwood meaning that Juan Mata and Marcus Rashford will drop to the bench. Rashford remains the only senior striker in the ranks in Anthony Martial’s injury absence but a section of the fans are eagerly awaiting to witness the impact of Greenwood upfront.
Chong, on the other hand, earned his maiden appearance of the campaign against the Foxes last weekend. The Dutchman impressed with his speed and trickery, and he should warrant a starting role on the basis of that cameo.
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