Marcel Sabitzer and Lisandro Martinez will return to the starting lineup when Manchester United and Leicester City face off on Sunday.
Manchester United will have the chance to reduce the gap to Manchester City when they welcome Leicester City to Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon. And Erik ten Hag will have two players returning to action in his side’s latest fixture.
Marcel Sabitzer and Lisandro Martinez will be available after missing the UEFA Europa League tie with Barcelona. But Casemiro will not feature against Leicester City as he completes his three-match ban.
In addition, Donny van de Beek (knee), Christian Eriksen (ankle), and Anthony Martial (hip) are on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Antony (knock) and Scott McTominay face a race against time to regain their fitness. And the duo will likely be unavailable to take on Leicester City this weekend.
During his pre-match press conference, ten Hag could not confirm if Antony and McTominay would be available this weekend. He also spoke about having Sabitzer and Martinez back at his disposal on Sunday.
The Manchester United boss said, “Maybe. We have to wait until tomorrow. Maybe one or two players can return, yeah. You don’t want to miss them [Sabitzer and in the squad, in Barcelona. They are important players for our team. They are back in the squad, which is good. That will strengthen the squad, so we will have a good team on Sunday.”
Martinez will return to the starting lineup, likely pairing up with Harry Maguire at the heart of the defence. That is because ten Hag might rest Raphael Varane ahead of the second leg against Barcelona. Diogo Dalot should also return after Aaron Wan-Bissaka started on Thursday. And Luke Shaw will move into the left-back role. Meanwhile, David de Gea picks himself between the sticks.
As for the midfield unit, Sabitzer will replace the suspended Casemiro, with Fred being his central midfield partner. The duo will be reserved in the double-pivot while picking their moments to charge forward.
Bruno Fernandes will be the most advanced midfielder for Manchester United. But he will often drop deep to support Sabitzer and Fred in the middle of the park. Alejandro Garnacho should replace Jadon Sancho, whose performances in the last two games have been sub-par. The 18-year-old will join Marcus Rashford and Wout Weghorst in the offensive unit.
Predicted Manchester United XI: de Gea; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw; Sabitzer, Fred; Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Garnacho; Weghorst
