Luke Shaw England Man United EPL
Luke Shaw Man United

Man United are back in Europe this week and they will take on a buoyant and in-form Barcelona in the Europa League.

Barcelona have been absolutely killing it in the La Liga but thankfully, Manchester United have improved leaps and bounds under Ten Hag this season. They are undefeated in their last six matches and they are still alive in every tournament.

The last time these two sides met was back in 2019 in the Champions League and Man United couldn’t defeat Barca in either of the two legs. However, this is a completely different United team now so we are expecting much tighter competition this time around.

The first leg will be played at Camp Nou so we think Erik ten Hag will be a lot more cautious to make sure that the two-legged tie doesn’t go out of hand on Thursday itself.

Man United’s injuries and suspensions:

The biggest problem for the Man United manager will be the absence of Lisandro Martinez who is suspended for this tie. Ten Hag has the options of Maguire and Lindelof but Luke Shaw is likely to pair up alongside Varane because ETH prefers a left-footed centre-back alongside the right-footed Varane.

Marcel Sabitzer is also suspended for the first leg but thankfully Casemiro will be coming back which means the Brazilian will come straight into the starting XI.

Eriksen is a long-term injury absentee and even Scott McTominay is out injured which means Fred will partner the former Real Madrid man in midfield.

Garnacho showed his worth once again, scoring the second goal against Leeds on Sunday and there’s a chance that he could get a start.

Antony is also injured and the winger is not likely to be fit in time so Ten Hag could deploy Garnacho to use his pace down the right wing. He also has the option of Jadon Sancho who is slowly getting back in form after a long absence.

Anthony Martial is out with a hip injury and if he is not available then Weghorst will once again lead the line.

Man United predicted line up vs Barcelona:

Predicted Starting XI(4-2-3-1): De Gea; Varane, Shaw, Malacia, Dalot; Casemiro, Fred; Fernandes, Rashford, Garnacho/Sancho; Weghorst.

Man United predicted line up vs Barcelona - Europa League 22/23