The next week of Premier League action sees high-flying Manchester United visit a Stoke team that’s full of confidence, having beaten Arsenal at the Britannia three weeks ago.
Manchester United head into the fixture as the top placed team in the Premier League in almost every department and will look to continue in that vein of form. Last season was a thoroughly disappointing one for Manchester United domestically, as a succession of draws hampered their progress. This fixture, in particular, added two 1-1 draws to Manchester United’s record last season, and the Red Devils will be looking to better that record.
Mark Hughes’ side have had a decent start of their own. On a piece of wins-draws and losses sees them in 11th position in the table. They will be relying on Jese to give them a boost up front, whereas new signings Kevin Wimmer and Zouma will prove to be tough opponents at the back.
Let’s look at Manchester United’s predicted lineup against Stoke City
Goalkeeper:
David de Gea will be expected to continue in goal after three consecutive clean sheets and an amazing international break.
David de Gea
Defense:
While Marcos Rojo and Luke Shaw did train with the first team, they are a long way out from first team contention. Hence, Jose might stick with the same defensive formula that has proven to be successful so far.
Blind – Jones – Bailly – Valencia
Midfield:
Mata may be dropped for this one. Stoke will look to crowd up the midfield to outrun Manchester United’s trio, hence Herrera could be the surprise package that Jose Mourinho might unleash on the Potters. He could assume the role of a destroyer alongside Matic and his creativity will be an added advantage.
Herrera – Matic – Pogba
Forward:
Rashford had an eventful international break. An impact sub against Malta and an all-round performance against Slovakia would have helped his confidence, and Jose will want to capitalize on that. Lukaku also enjoyed a fairly enjoyable break, scoring a hat trick against Gibraltar. Mkhitaryan will keep his position alongside the duo.
Rashford – Lukaku – Mkhitaryan
Here’s Manchester United’s predicted lineup against Stoke City
