Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard are likely to return for Manchester United when they meet Wolves at Molineux in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Manchester United will be aiming to qualify for the FA Cup semi-finals for the second season running when they pay a visit to Molineux to take on Wolves in their Last Eight tie on Saturday. And, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has plenty of good news to talk about ahead of the quarter-final clash.
The goalkeeping department remains at full strength, but David de Gea will not start face Wolves owing to the general bifurcation of roles for goalkeepers. Sergio Romero tends to line up between the posts in cup competitions, and the Manchester caretaker boss hailed the Manchester United backup custodian during his pre-match press conference.
“Sergio [Romero] been absolutely fantastic and he must have the world record for clean sheets in the percentage of games he’s played. He’s kept nine [clean sheets] in the last 11 games, or something like that, in the FA Cup so that’s fantastic.”
There is a mix of good news and bad in defence. Phil Jones is fit and available after recovering from illness. But, Ashley Young is among those who will miss the trip to Wolverhampton, as he is suspended. The other defenders unavailable are Antonio Valencia and Matteo Darmian.
In Young’s stead, Diogo Dalot ought to be the right-back for Manchester United, with Luke Shaw continuing on the opposite flank. Despite Jones’ availability, the consistent duo of Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof should continue due to the importance of the FA Cup clash for Manchester United.
There is more good news on offer in midfield, meanwhile, with Solskjaer informing the media present during his pre-match press conference that both Ander Herrera and Jesse Lingard have trained all week. But, the Manchester United interim manager also had some bad news pertaining to the attacking unit.
“We’re still getting players [back]. They’ve been training better this week so Jesse [Lingard] and Ander [Herrera] have been training. Rom[elu Lukaku] has a sore foot so he will be assessed this morning [Friday] so let’s see if he can join in. Phil Jones is back so we’re looking stronger.”
Herrera’s return to fitness should see him make it back to the starting lineup, with Paul Pogba a certain starter as well. The final spot in midfield will be a toss-up between Nemanja Matic and Scott McTominay. McTominay has been in the ascendancy over the last month of so, but is unfortunately likely to lose out to Matic on Wednesday.
Upfront, there is no looking past Marcus Rashford for one of the attacking spots at present. But, with Romelu Lukaku being a major doubt due to soreness in his foot, Lingard could be set to return to action, lining up on the right side of the Manchester United attack against Wolves. The final place in the side should be given to Anthony Martial, who is now fully fit and set to return to the starting lineup.
