Lisandro Martinez and Altay Bayindir will return to the Manchester United starting lineup for the UEFA Europa League tie against Rangers at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Manchester United will be desperate to return to winning ways and get closer to qualifying for the UEFA Europa League round of 16 when they host Rangers at Old Trafford on Thursday night. Ruben Amorim has greeted a positive update on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Victor Lindelof has recovered from his problem and resumed training this week. While the Swedish international is not ready to return to action yet, he is closing in on his comeback. Luke Shaw (calf), Jonny Evans (muscular injury), and Mason Mount (hamstring) remain on the sidelines.
In addition, Marcus Rashford will unlikely be picked as Manchester United continue to work on his departure. Meanwhile, during his conversation with the club media, Amorim provided a fitness update on Lindelof.
The Manchester United manager said, “Vic is training but I prefer to do extra work today because I want him for a long time, not just to put him [in] right away. For the rest, Luke is recovering really well. Mason Mount, it’s good to see them on the pitch. [So] just Vic [back in training], but he’s not in the squad.”
Amorim also discussed the physical challenge of facing Rangers, saying, “We expect a tough match, a lot of physicality during the game. We know that some important players from Rangers will not play and we have to know the new players to understand the way that they play. They play with the full-backs really high on the pitch and they have talent to score in the final thirds.”
The Manchester United boss continued, “It is one more difficult game but it is important for us because we want to keep in the play-offs and we need to have that [extra] time to train. I expect the same thing we faced in the last games, a really tough match, a lot of physicality and also the fans from Rangers making some noise. So we are prepared, our fans are prepared and we want to win.”
Altay Bayindir should replace Andre Onana between the sticks, with the home side lining up in a 3-4-2-1 formation in front of him against Rangers on Thursday. The central defensive unit should feature Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire, and Lisandro Martinez, with the latter replacing Matthijs de Ligt.
Diogo Dalot and Tyrell Malacia should be the two wing-backs, with Noussair Mazraoui getting some rest. As for the midfield unit, Christian Eriksen should make a rare start, lining up alongside Manuel Ugarte in the middle of the park. Finally, Rasmus Hojlund will lead the line for the home side, with Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo completing the numbers in the offensive trifecta.
Predicted Manchester United XI: Bayindir; Yoro, Maguire, Martinez; Dalot, Eriksen, Ugarte, Malacia; Amad, Bruno Fernandes; Hojlund
