Raphael Varane and Edinson Cavani have recovered from their injuries, but Paul Pogba is unavailable as Manchester United prepare to face Newcastle United.
Manchester United will be gunning for their third Premier League win under interim manager Ralf Rangnick when they take on Newcastle United at St. James’ Park on Monday night.
Leading up to the game, the Red Devils have a near clean bill of health with the players who returned a positive test for coronavirus recovering while the likes of Raphael Varane, Edinson Cavani, Anthony Martial and Aaron Wan-Bissaka returning from their injury troubles. However, Paul Pogba is still not ready for a return to action.
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Providing an update on the squad in the pre-match presser, Rangnick said: “Yes, as you know, we had last week, the last training session on Thursday, on that day we had eight outfield players and three goalkeepers, and then we closed down the training ground for four days in order to break the chain.
“Today was the third day of training this week, we started on Tuesday, we trained yesterday and today. Today we had 25 outfield players. Paul Pogba is the only one missing, everyone else was on board. The development in the last week was extremely positive.”
Even though he has almost the entire squad available at his disposal, Rangnick is unlikely to make major tweaks to the side that took the field against Norwich City last time out a couple of weeks ago. David de Gea will man the goal again as he looks for his third consecutive clean sheet in the Premier League.
Even though Varane is back, the Frenchman is unlikely to be rushed into action on Monday. Instead, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof are likely to pair up at the heart of the Red Devils’ defence, flanked by the full-back pairing of Diogo Dalot and Alex Telles, who have done well recently during the absence of Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw.
Scott McTominay and Fred are certain starters in the centre of the park, although veteran star Nemanja Matic would also be an option for the manager. Donny van de Beek is unlikely to feature from the start yet again but could get some minutes off the bench.
Bruno Fernandes is a guaranteed starter in one of the two attacking midfield slots in Rangnick’s preferred 4-2-2-2 setup. The Portuguese playmaker could be partnered by Jadon Sancho again, who will look to mix it up by drifting out wide or cutting infield to create chances in the final third.
The availability of Cavani offers more options up top for Rangnick. However, the German is likely to continue with the pairing of Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford again, with Mason Greenwood, Cavani and Martial providing cover from the bench.
Manchester United Predicted XI: De Gea, Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire, Telles; McTominay, Fred; Sancho, Fernandes; Ronaldo, Rashford.
