Manchester United face Athletic Bilbao in their final pre-season friendly in Dublin today.
The Red Devils entertained Lens at Old Trafford in Saturday’s friendly. They trailed 1-0 at the break, but made amends with three quickfire goals before the hour mark.
Marcus Rashford and Antony made two goal contributions. Alejandro Garnacho was also brilliant in the comeback win, providing a quality assist for Antony’s goal.
Following the game, manager Erik ten Hag hinted that the unused players could start at the Aviva Stadium. In our view, there could be a complete reshuffle of the line-up.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Predicted Line-up:
Tom Heaton is currently United’s back-up goalkeeper behind Andre Onana. He has started three games in pre-season, and should get another opportunity against Athletic.
In front of him, there should be a completely different backline from yesterday’s win. Aaron Wan-Bissaka is expected to replace Diogo Dalot in the right-back position.
Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez are likely to be rested after playing 90 minutes versus Lens. Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof are the obvious replacements.
Brandon Williams has featured in every pre-season game with the senior squad this summer. We anticipate him to start at left-back ahead of Alvaro Fernandez.
Hannibal Mejbri could be tasked to play in midfield alongside Christian Eriksen today with Scott McTominay and Kobbie Mainoo injured. Fred is unavailable due to personal reasons.
Facundo Pellistri seems the natural starter from the right wing with Antony set to be rested. Similarly, Donny van de Beek should feature in the number 10 position ahead of Bruno Fernandes.
Omari Forson is likely to get the nod on the left wing with Jadon Sancho leading the attack. The 23-year-old faces a make-or-break season ahead with United. He is no longer an assured starter.
How Man Utd could line up vs Athletic Bilbao
Stats from Transfermarkt.com