This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
After fielding their youngest ever starting eleven in major European competition on Thursday afternoon against FC Astana, order will no doubt be restored when Manchester United return to Premier League action on Sunday.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side already find themselves nine points off the top four, and anything but a victory against newly-promoted Aston Villa will not suffice. The Red Devils boss will surely therefore re-introduce all his key first-team stars who missed out on the long trip to Kazakhstan in the Europa League, and with a week’s rest under their belt, should be raring to go at the weekend.
With that in mind, below is a look at how United may potentially line up against Dean Smith’s men.
Having opted for a formation with a back-three against Sheffield United last weekend, Solskjaer may return to a four-man defence against Villa. David de Gea will undoubtedly come straight back into the team as the Red Devils’ first-choice goalkeeper, whilst in front of him, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Brandon Williams are all likely to return too.
In central midfield is where the United boss may be tempted to look at Thursday afternoon’s clash against FC Astana and reward someone who performed impressively. Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba are both out injured, whilst Andreas Pereira had a game to forget against the Blades last week (he managed just a 6.4 match rating as per Sofascore – the joint-second worst of any Red Devils player).
That could mean James Garner – who had an incredible 97% pass accuracy and had 97 touches against Astana – retains his place for the game against Villa, and partner Fred in the middle of the park. Ahead of the duo, Jesse Lingard’s rare goal may tempt Solskjaer to throw him straight back into the starting line-up as a massive vote of confidence in the attacking midfielder.
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And once again, United’s three amigos of Daniel James, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial will be looking to do all the damage as they spearhead the attack.
Meanwhile, Manchester United fans have hammered Tahith Chong after his horror showing against FC Astana.