Kobbie Mainoo and Lisandro Martinez will miss out for Manchester United against Arsenal as they serve their one-match suspensions on Wednesday.
Manchester United will aim to continue the unbeaten start to life under Ruben Amorim when they lock horns with Arsenal at the Emirates on Wednesday night. And the Portuguese tactician has new roster issues that are hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Kobbie Mainoo and Lisandro Martinez are unavailable, with the duo serving one-match bans after picking up their fifth bookings of the 2024/25 Premier League season. In addition, Luke Shaw has sustained another injury that will keep him on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.
Leny Yoro and Victor Lindelof will not feature, although the former is closing in on making his bow for the away side. Amorim is also sweating over the fitness of Jonny Evans. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, the Portuguese tactician provided a team news update on his squad.
The Manchester United manager said, “We have one more training session to see it. Maybe Leny Yoro is going to be in the squad. I felt he’s in a good moment now, his fitness is better, so I think he is going to be in the squad.”
“We didn’t have too many trainings together. He’s training not alone but with a small group of players. He’s really fast but he’s a modern defender and that is good when you want to press high. I think he is a special talent but we have to be careful in this first moment.”
The Manchester United boss continued, “You have a lot of strikers, especially in this league, one against one. I think he can manage that. He’s very good with the ball so I’m really excited but we have to be careful. We have to manage the load and the minutes in the beginning but I’m really excited to see Leny Yoro playing. The rest, I have to see. Some players were tired so we have to assess tomorrow in training.”
While Yoro might be in the matchday squad, he will unlikely feature from the get-go. So, Harry Maguire should replace the suspended Lisandro Martinez in the central defensive unit, lining up alongside Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt. Andre Onana is an automatic pick between the sticks.
As for the midfield unit, Manuel Ugarte should pair up with Casemiro in the central areas, with Amad Diallo and Diogo Dalot continuing as the wing-backs. Finally, the offensive trifecta might remain unchanged, although Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund will hope to return.
Predicted Manchester United XI: Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Maguire; Diallo, Casemiro, Ugarte, Dalot; Rashford, Bruno Fernandes; Zirkzee