England Harry Maguire and Kieran Trippier
Harry Maguire and Kieran Trippier

Harry Maguire was one of the main culprits during Manchester United’s loss to Sevilla last week but Ten Hag’s side did really well without him on Sunday in the FA Cup semi-final.

Maguire did not play at Wembley which meant Luke Shaw had to play in central defence and to be fairly honest, Man United looked much more stable at the back.

Manchester United are scheduled to take on Tottenham Hotspur this week and all eyes will be on Erik ten Hag to see if he chooses to name Harry Maguire in the starting lineup.

The England international has fallen down the pecking order this season but since Lisandro Martinez and Varane are both out injured, the United boss has no other option but to rely on the pairing of Lindelof and Maguire.

The 30-year-old has played in only 13 league games this season and whenever he’s started, Manchester United have looked really uncomfortable in defence.

Shaw and Lindelof looked really solid against Brighton on Sunday and even Rio Ferdinand has claimed that Erik ten Hag will rely on the same pairing against Spurs as well.

The Man United legend said(h/t MEN): “I don’t think he [Ten Hag] changes the team now in terms of the two centre-backs. I think how assured they looked – we weren’t on the ropes at any time.

“There might have been a glimmer for Brighton a couple of times and half sniffs but there wasn’t any panic at the back. [Ten Hag will] go off performance and go off today and I can’t see him changing that pairing unless Varane or Martinez come back fit.”

Harry Maguire has looked panic-stricken every time he’s started for Manchester United and most of the time, his errors have led to the downfall of the club. Last Thursday was a perfect example of this so there’s very little chance that he is going to start against Tottenham.

Man United need to win this to make sure that they finish in the top four this season so ETH will field his absolutely best starting line up. Also, Spurs are in complete shambles right now and they go into this match at the back of a 6-1 loss to Newcastle United so the last thing United will want to do is to instil confidence by using an under-confident Harry Maguire in central defence.

With Luke Shaw playing at centre-back means Lindelof gets to play on the right-hand side of central defence, his favoured position so it is a win-win situation for everyone. Harry Maguire will get a watching brief when Man United travel to London and if the pairing of Shaw and Lindelof can have a good 90 minutes then there’s no way the England international will get starts for the remainder of the season.