Man United take on Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Monday and Ralf Rangnick will have to keep his cool and name a side amidst immense player mutiny.
More than a dozen players are said to be dissatisfied with the interim manager but the German is not going anywhere until the end of the season so all these players will either have to perform or perish.
The Manchester United players have failed to embody the high-pressing 4-2-2-2 system and there are rumours that Rangnick might shift to a 3-4-1-2 or 3-4-2-1 formation for this FA Cup game. While this remains a possibility but we have a feeling the German is going to give his favourite system one more shot since this is not a Premier League game.
Rangnick has most of his regular players fully fit but almost all of them are massively out of form which means the interim boss has to be really careful with his team selection. Given how poorly Man United performed vs Wolves, a lot of the benchwarmers will be hoping that they are selected in the first XI on Monday.
Man United team news vs Aston Villa:
Dean Henderson will get to start, replacing David De Gea in front of goal.
Harry Maguire will have to go through a late fitness test meaning his selection is not yet guaranteed. But thankfully Victor Lindelof has returned to training and will be available for selection.
“Victor is back in training, since yesterday, which is very good news for us,” said Rangnick in his press conference. “Harry hasn’t been able to train, as yet, and we have to wait and see how this develops, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
“With Harry, there is still a question mark but Victor will definitely be available for the game on Monday.”
Phil Jones was sensational in that Wolves game but we doubt if Ralf will use him on Monday. If Lindelof is not suffering from any post-COVID issues then he will partner Varane in central defence.
🚨 ‘Blame game’ — As speculation grows over a number of Man Utd players, Harry Maguire has admitted that the players are the ones at fault and they fully respect Ralph Rangnick.
(Source: Star / @hendopolis) pic.twitter.com/yFUXTe5Dqp
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) January 9, 2022
Luke Shaw and McTominay will miss Manchester United’s next Premier League game due to suspension so both of them will definitely start on Monday. Fred hasn’t featured in the last two matches so he too will play in that double midfield pivot.
Paul Pogba is still out and as per the manager, the midfielder will be out for another one month.
“As far as I know, I was told a week ago, it would be a minimum of at least another four or five weeks before he is fit for training again,” Rangnick told club media.
Donny van de Beek has failed to win over the new boss as well but we might just see him start alongside Bruno Fernandes when Man United face Aston Villa. Rangnick also has the option of Jesse Lingard but if he is on his way out this month then the England international is not likely to feature.
Jadon Sancho and Greenwood both played against Wolves so they will not get starts on Monday which possibly means the out of form Marcus Rashford will get a chance to redeem himself. Ronaldo starts up front as usual.
Man United predicted line up vs Aston Villa:
Predicted Starting Line-up(4-2-2-2): Henderson; Jones/Lindelof, Varane, Shaw, Dalot; Fred, McTominay; Fernandes, Lingard/Van de Beek; Rashford, Ronaldo.
