Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to ring in the changes when Manchester United once again face Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup.
Manchester United will remain at the Amex Stadium as they once again lock horns with Brighton & Hove Albion – this time, in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to make a plethora of changes from the side that that secured a narrow win in this same fixture this past weekend, in the Premier League.
“I think teams are making changes. You can see teams have a cup team and a league team and we’ll make changes. It’ll be very similar to what happened last week against Luton,” Solskjaer told the Manchester Unite website, ahead of the clash.
#TuesdayThoughts from @LukeShaw23 ?#CarabaoCup ? pic.twitter.com/L3ipcpumua
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 29, 2020
Fortunately for the Norwegian, he won’t be having to deal with any fresh injury-related absentees either so we could pretty much witness an almost identical lineup that started the game against Luton Town, in the previous round.
Dean Henderson, in particular, is almost guaranteed to return in goal at the expense of David de Gea. The same can be said for the likes of Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Brandon Williams and Eric Bailly, with Harry Maguire being the only player likely to retain his place in the starting lineup.
Further changes are expected in central midfield, where both Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic could be rested for the crucial Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. They are set to be replaced by Scott McTominay and Fred.
Moving forward, Donny van de Beek will be hoping to make a mark in what will be his second start for Manchester United. The Dutchman is yet to make an impact following a promising start to his Old Trafford career so it will be interesting to see how he performs in the absence of Bruno Fernandes this week.
Jesse Lingard got a rare opportunity against Luton Town in the last round. But, Daniel James could start instead of the Englishman on the left side of the Manchester United attack, with Juan Mata operating from the opposite flank. Finally, Odion Ighalo will lead the line against Brighton, as Solskjaer look to provide some much-needed breather to Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.
Manchester United Predicted XI: Henderson; Fosu-Mensah, Bailly, Maguire, Williams; McTominay, Fred; Mata, van de Beek, James; Ighalo
