Manchester United take on Aston Villa in today’s Premier League kick-off at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils ended a nine-match winless streak with a terrific 3-2 comeback win over Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday.
United trailed 2-0 early to the Giallorossi at Old Trafford, but they staged a sensational turnaround after heroics from Matheus Cunha.
Cunha won the penalty converted by Bruno Fernandes (retake) before scoring two late goals to seal a memorable comeback triumph.
Despite the result, manager Michael Carrick remains under pressure, given United are now 18th in the Premier League after Nottingham Forest’s win over Manchester City.
The Red Devils will be eyeing a second league win of the season today, and ahead of the game, we expect at least three changes to the XI from Carrick.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Predicted Line-up:
Senne Lammens has produced a mixed bag of performances this campaign. His handling has been inconsistent, but he is still expected to continue between the sticks.
The defence could witness one change from the midweek win. We anticipate Matthijs de Ligt to come in for Ayden Heaven, who had a disastrous outing against the Giallorossi.
The Dutchman looks poised to make his first league appearance of the season alongside Harry Maguire in central defence after back surgery. Lisandro Martinez is suspended after his sending off at Chelsea last weekend.
Leny Yoro and Diogo Dalot should continue in the full-back positions.
With Carlos Baleba out with a hamstring injury, Carrick will be forced to make a midfield change.
Youri Tielemans had a lively cameo after replacing Baleba in the second half against Roma and the Belgian could be reinstated into central midfield alongside Kobbie Mainoo today.
Carrick said that the 29-year-old was absolutely fantastic after coming off the bench against Roma. After such praise, Tielemans should be a firm favourite to start in the heart of the midfield.
The Anderlecht graduate still possesses limited mobility and could face a stern challenge against his former club.
In the final third, we fully expect a change on the right wing. Amad Diallo has been good with his counter-attacking runs lately, but has lacked the cutting edge in his decision-making.
The £37 million signing should make way for club graduate Shea Lacey’s full league debut. The youngster provided the assist for Cunha’s winner and also won an impressive three dribbles.
He played with more directness than Amad and deserves to make the XI against Villa.
The rest of the attack should stay the same. Bryan Mbeumo should continue on the left wing with Bruno Fernandes in the number 10 role. Cunha is a no-brainer to lead the line after his midweek heroics. Benjamin Sesko is out injured.
How Man Utd should line up vs Aston Villa