Manchester United will be aiming to return to winning ways when they host Tottenham Hotspur in today’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils have picked up only seven points after five games into the league season, and they are currently placed 12th in the standings.
They played out a 1-1 draw at Fulham prior to the international break, and manager Michael Carrick will want a better display with a win today.
Ahead of the game, we expect an identical line-up to the recent stalemate at Craven Cottage after Carrick’s comments in his pre-match presser.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Predicted Line-up:
Senne Lammens is an undisputed starter in goal for the Red Devils in the league. He had a superb international break with three starts for Belgium. He received plenty of praise for his performances. The 24-year-old is poised to take his place between the sticks.
The backline should remain the same as in the draw at Fulham. With Noussair Mazraoui and Patrick Dorgu injured on international duty, Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw are pretty much guaranteed picks in the right and left-back positions for the manager.
Leny Yoro had a surprise call-up to the French national side for the Nations League. He ended up making his debut with a sublime display against Belgium, winning 100 percent of his duels and completing 93 percent of his passes. The French media hailed him.
Despite this, he remains a back-up choice for the central defensive positions under Carrick. Harry Maguire is well-rested and should line up alongside Lisandro Martinez in the heart of the backline once more.
Carlos Baleba trained a lot during the international break and even featured in a friendly game. Despite this, Carrick has confirmed the midfielder could be eased into action after his ankle injury and hinted he may not be ready to start yet.
This leaves Carrick with an easy choice. Andrey Santos has not started since the defeat at Hull City in August. Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo have been the frontline choices in central midfield, and we expect the pairing to keep their places today.
In the final third, it could be more of the same. If Marcus Rashford is fit, he could slot on the left wing with Bryan Mbeumo on the right. This would leave Matheus Cunha to feature as the makeshift number nine, with Benjamin Sesko ruled out with a shin injury.
Bruno Fernandes is an obvious starter in attacking midfield. The club captain has not scored or assisted in three league matches, and he is due a big performance. He has seven goal involvements in just 12 league games against Spurs and should relish the challenge.
How Man Utd could line up vs Tottenham
Stats from Transfermarkt.com