Man United play their first home game after the resumption of the Premier League this midweek as they take on Sheffield United.
The OT outfit go into this game at the back of a hard-fought 1-1 draw vs Tottenham Hotspur away from home but with Chelsea winning against Aston Villa, United have now slipped five points adrift of that final top-four spot.
So, Solskjaer men will have to pick up all three points against the Blades on Wednesday or else they could move down to seventh on the table by the end of this matchweek.
Man United are undefeated in 12 of their last 13 home matches in the Premier League and Sheffield go into this game at the back of a 3-0 loss to Newcastle United meaning the home side are being counted as the favourites to pick up a win.
Man United team news vs Sheffield United:
David De Gea’s mistake helped Spurs score their only goal of the match last Friday and after the game, the Spanish keeper has been met with a lot of criticism. But he will still be United’s No 1 for this game as well as for the remainder of the season.
Lindelof and Maguire did a more than decent job in keeping players like Son and Harry Kane in rein and the duo should start in central defence in midweek. Some reports claim Eric Bailly could also get a nod ahead of Lindelof as Solskjaer will look to rotate his squad.
The Man United boss might opt for a change in formation to his starting line-up vs the Blades for two reasons. First, he needs to bring Paul Pogba into midfield and secondly, he needs to stop the away side from building up swift attacking moves.
And this is why both Fred and Scott McTominay are expected to start in central midfield alongside Paul Pogba while Bruno Fernandes plays as the link between the midfield and the attackers.
This would also mean that Daniel James will move back to the bench as Solskjaer will use two forwards up front and one of them is going to be Marcus Rashford.
Anthony Martial had a really subdued game vs Spurs last week and many pundits think he should be dropped to the bench and Mason Greenwood should be promoted. While this can be a possible option for the manager but we doubt if Ole will walk on this path.
At best Mason Greenwood or Odion Ighalo could come on in the second half.
Man United’s predicted XI vs Sheffield:
Predicted starting XI: De Gea, Harry Maguire, Lindelof/Bailly, Wan-Bissaka, Luke Shaw; Fred, McTominay, Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes; Rashford, Martial/Greenwood.
Stats via Whoscored.com.
