Manchester United entertain Tottenham Hotspur in Saturday’s Premier League encounter at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils have been disappointing since the winter break, picking up just nine points from their last six games.
That includes a heavy 4-1 defeat to Manchester City last weekend. They were completely dominated in the second half.
Interim boss Ralf Rangnick will be hoping for a strong response from his side against Antonio Conte’s side this weekend.
United have generally excelled in the fixture. The Red Devils have won four of the last six encounters against the London club.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Predicted Line-up:
David de Gea has had an exceptional campaign between the sticks, producing several stand-out displays. He was kept busy against the Cityzens.
While the Spaniard conceded four goals, he also made five key saves to avoid further humiliation for United.
De Gea has been ever-present in the league this term and should be an assured starter against Spurs.
The backline could witness a couple of changes from the derby loss. Aaron Wan-Bissaka started a third-straight league game last weekend, but he was largely ineffective with Jack Grealish getting the better of him. He finished with zero tackles. Diogo Dalot looks on course to replace him at right-back.
Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire had poor outings at the Etihad Stadium. While both were prone to positional errors, the latter was partly responsible for the opening two goals.
Maguire did not track the run of Kevin de Bruyne behind him for the first before making a surprise decision to dummy the ball in the lead-up to City’s second. Raphael Varane is back in full training after coronavirus and could replace the club captain.
No change is likely in the left-back position. Alex Telles was far from his best against Pep Guardiola’s men, but could continue with Luke Shaw doubtful due to coronavirus. There has been no confirmation that the England star has returned to team training.
In the centre of the park, Nemanja Matic could be reinstated in place of Scott McTominay, who looked out of sorts last weekend following his return from an illness. He was probably rushed back to action. The decision from Rangnick did not prove worthwhile.
He could be accompanied by Paul Pogba, who has played an advanced attacking role over the past two games.
Elsewhere, Bruno Fernandes could feature in his preferred number 10 position, having been ineffective from the false nine role last weekend.
Jadon Sancho should be an undisputed starter on the left wing, having bagged three goals and two assists since the winter break.
He scored with a stunning curling effort from the edge of the box against City, but it came to no avail in the end.
Marcus Rashford has been benched lately, with Anthony Elanga getting the nod over him.
There has recently been much talk over his future at the club, but he is still regarded as a huge part of their plans. Rashford could be picked over Elanga on the right wing.
Edinson Cavani could be tasked with leading the line against Spurs with Cristiano Ronaldo still training away from the first team due to a hip flexor problem which he has been nursing for a while.
The Uruguayan was deemed unfit to face City due to a groin issue but has featured in training once more. He scored in the reverse meeting where United sealed a comfortable 3-0 win.
How Man Utd could line up against Tottenham Hotspur
Stats from Transfermarkt.com.
