Manchester United entertain Sabah in tonight’s Champions League clash at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils are back in the elite European competition after two seasons, and they will be aiming for a comfortable win over Sabah.
Manager Michael Carrick is bound to consider some rotation, given that United have a crucial Premier League derby against Manchester City at home on Sunday afternoon.
In our view, the 45-year-old could make four changes to the starting XI.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Predicted Line-up:
Senne Lammens has been United’s undisputed goalkeeper since making his league debut in October last year. The Belgian will be eyeing his first clean sheet of the campaign tonight.
The backline could see a couple of changes from the 2-2 league draw against Everton on Sunday. Diogo Dalot had a difficult opening half and could easily have received an early booking.
He won just 30 percent of his overall duels and was dribbled past twice. We believe Noussair Mazraoui could get the nod over the Portuguese after his subpar showing at right-back.
Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez look poised to continue in the heart of the defence, but there could be a change in the left-back position with Luke Shaw possibly getting a breather.
The Englishman was given an extra day’s recovery on Wednesday. Considering his worrying injury record over the years, his workload may need to be managed during the ongoing season.
Based on his absence yesterday, we fancy Patrick Dorgu to slot into the left-back position. The Dane has exclusively played as a left winger under Carrick, but he is a defensive player by trade.
The third change could happen in the centre of the park. Youri Tielemans has fared decently in recent matches, but his limited ball progression means there is definite room for a different personnel.
Andrey Santos has not made the starting XI since the 2-0 loss to Hull City in the season opener. We fancy the former Chelsea man to partner Kobbie Mainoo in central midfield against Sabah.
In the final third, captain Bruno Fernandes is an obvious starter in the number 10 role. Bryan Mbeumo should likewise continue on the right wing on the back of scoring a fabulous goal at Everton.
Carrick hinted that Benjamin Sesko is not far away from making the XI after his late goal against the Toffees. We feel the Slovenian should be unleashed upfront as part of the preparation for the Manchester derby.
Marcus Rashford has recovered from a minor injury scare last weekend. He would be our preferred choice on the left wing ahead of Matheus Cunha, who could still feature from the bench.
How Man Utd could line up vs Sabah
Stats from Sofascore.com