Predicted Manchester United lineup against Villarreal: Maguire, Shaw out; Sancho to start

Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw are set to miss out but Jadon Sancho is in line to start when Manchester United face Villarreal in the Champions League.

Manchester United will be hoping to return to winning ways and get off the mark in the UEFA Champions League this season when they play hosts to La Liga outfit Villarreal at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

Heading into the game, Manchester United have been dealt with a couple of fresh blows as captain Harry Maguire and fellow defender Luke Shaw both picked up injuries at the weekend against Aston Villa and are set to miss out on Wednesday night.

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Providing an update on the England duo in his pre-match presser, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said: “Luke has been in today so I’ll give him a chance to be involved. He didn’t train with the team. Harry is, more or less, definitely out and it doesn’t look good. It’s Harry’s calf and it might take a few weeks. Let’s see how quickly he recovers.”

In addition, Marcus Rashford and Amad Diallo also remain unavailable for selection due to their respective injuries. Aaron Wan-Bissaka is suspended for the contest after having been sent off in the loss to Young Boys a fortnight ago. So Diogo Dalot is pretty much guaranteed to start at right-back for Manchester United while Alex Telles should replace Shaw on the left.

Victor Lindelof is expected to fill in for the injured Maguire at the heart of the Manchester United defence, partnering summer signing Raphael Varane who has done well in his short time at Old Trafford. David de Gea ought to continue between the sticks ahead of Dean Henderson after his promising start to the new season.

Midfield has been a concern for Solskjaer & co. with Fred not performing at the level expected. He should drop out of the lineup for Wednesday’s contest, with Paul Pogba moving into the midfield pivot alongside Scott McTominay.

Three of the four slots in the final third are pretty much locked in as Mason Greenwood, Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo are all expected to start against Villarreal. With Pogba moving into midfield, the left-wing slot will be up for grabs, with Jadon Sancho in line to start as he hopes to get his Manchester United career up and running.

Manchester United Predicted XI: de Gea, Dalot, Lindelof, Varane, Telles, McTominay, Pogba, Greenwood, Fernandes, Sancho, Ronaldo.

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