Cristiano Ronaldo will be in contention to feature when Manchester United and Sheriff Tiraspol face off at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Manchester United will aim to remain within touching distance of Real Sociedad when they welcome Sheriff Tiraspol to Old Trafford to Old Trafford on Thursday night. And Erik ten Hag has greeted a mixed bag of updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Raphael Varane is the latest absentee for Manchester United. The Frenchman sustained an ankle injury against Chelsea and will be unavailable for the foreseeable future. In addition, Brandon Williams, Axel Tuanzebe, and Anthony Martial remain on the sidelines due to their respective issues.
As for the good news, Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Donny van de Beek have resumed training. And the trio will be in contention to feature against Sheriff. Cristiano Ronaldo will also be in the matchday squad after rejoining first-team training. The Portuguese international missed the game against Chelsea due to his antics in the match versus Tottenham Hotspur.
Erik ten Hag spoke about Ronaldo during his pre-match press conference, confirming the veteran striker is available. The Manchester United boss said, “It’s not difficult but I think we set everything and we answered all the questions. So he was out for one game and now he is back in the squad as usual.”
As for the team news update, ten Hag said, “They are all back in training. Donny, Harry and Aaron are all in training for preparation for tomorrow’s game. We will assess after training. Together with the medical [staff], I will take the decision.”
Maguire might not be fit enough to start. So Victor Lindelof should come in for Varane at the heart of the Manchester United defence. The Swede will pair up with Lisandro Martinez, with Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw continuing as the full-backs. David de Gea picks himself between the sticks, with ten Hag yet to utilise Martin Dubravka.
Up ahead in midfield, Casemiro and Christian Eriksen should form the double pivot again. Fred and Scott McTominay will thus be options on the bench for Manchester United. Bruno Fernandes will be the most advanced midfielder against Sheriff Tiraspol.
Ronaldo will be in the squad on Thursday, but he will unlikely make the starting lineup. So Marcus Rashford will spearhead the Manchester United attack against Sheriff Tiraspol. Jadon Sancho and Antony will be the two wide attackers for the hosts.
Predicted Manchester United XI: de Gea; Dalot, Lindelof, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Bruno Fernandes, Sancho; Rashford
