Last week, Man United and Barcelona played one of the most exciting European games of this season and they go head-on once again, this time in the second leg.
Manchester United welcome Barca at Old Trafford this week and with the two-legged tie perfectly poised at 2-2, Thursday’s game is expected to be another cracker.
Man United are unbeaten in 17 home games and last week Erik ten Hag showed that his boys can look Barcelona eye-to-eye and even come out on top. Honestly, the Premier League side should have won that match but a few poor decisions meant they have to settle for a draw.
Many managers would very happily ask their players to sit back and play on the counter against a team like Barca but Ten Hag is not that sort of a person. We are sure that he will urge his players to go on the front foot and when they are in sync, Manchester United are one of the most fluid attacking sides in Europe.
The La Liga side are unbeaten in 11 away games right now but on Thursday, previous records and titles won’t mean anything.
Man United’s team news and injuries:
Lisandro Martinez missed the first leg and it was Luke Shaw who played alongside Raphael Varane but the Argentine will return to the side meaning Shaw will move to his usual left-back role.
Harry Maguire has picked up a knee injury and the manager has made it hinted that he might not be available for Thursday.
The manager said during the weekend: ‘No, I don’t think [it’s serious]. We have to wait and see how it develops, but I think he will be available again shortly.’
Sabitzer will also be available and it’s the loanee who is expected to partner with Casemiro in the middle of the park. McTominay got some minutes under his belt on Sunday and this is a very big boost for Man United.
Antony and Anthony Martial are both in line to be fully fit for the second leg but we don’t think Erik ten Hag will be too eager to hand them a start.
Both of them have been on the sidelines for some time so this is not the ideal game to bring them back. If they are deemed fit then at best they will be on the bench.
Weghorst has been playing as the No 10 in the last few matches with Fernandes out on the right wing and we think the Man United manager is going to use this same tactic this week.
Rashford has been in the form of his life so obviously, he starts and after Sunday’s performance, Jadon Sancho should also be rewarded with a start.
Man United predicted line up vs Barcelona:
Predicted Starting XI(4-2-3-1): De Gea; Luke Shaw, Martinez, Varane, Wan-Bissaka; Casemiro, Sabitzer; Fernandes, Sancho, Rashford, Weghorst.
