Potential Manchester United XI vs Middlesbrough

After surpassing the hardest section of their tough run of fixtures still within two points of the Premier League’s summit, Manchester United now turn their attentions to the Capital One Cup against Championship side Middlesbrough.

The Reds eased past Ipswich in the last round at Old Trafford with goals from Wayne Rooney, Andreas Pereira and Anthony Martial helping Manchester United to a 3-0 win, while Boro cruised past fellow Championship side Wolves with a 3-0 win of their own.

After a tough week for United, Louis van Gaal is expected to make changes to his side following their win over Everton and draws against CSKA Moscow and Manchester City.

One position unlikely to see change is the goalkeeper. David De Gea had next to nothing to do against Manchester City and with the manager a keen advocate of playing his strongest team as much as he can, he’s likely to keep his place in the side. He played every game with the exception of the final game against Hull, meaning burnout shouldn’t be an issue.

In defence, the options are a bit better than they have been recently. Paddy McNair would have got a run-out in this game had he not been ruled out for a month with a rib injury picked up on international duty, so Daley Blind is likely to return to the first-team fold. Chris Smalling has featured more than any other player for Manchester United this season, missing just 20 minutes of action in all competitions. He’s likely to get a rest in this tie, with Phil Jones showing that he is fully fit and deserving of a spot in the starting line-up and ready to partner Blind at the back in this game.

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At left-back, Marcos Rojo is expected to continue his good run of form. The Argentine has come back into the side and been excellent against Everton and Manchester City, although he struggled against CSKA Moscow when he was clearly targeted by the Russian side. With Blind likely to feature at centre-back in this game, Rojo remains the only option at full-back so must start.

Similar can be said on the right for Matteo Darmian. The Italian was dropped to the bench for the derby on Sunday with Antonio Valencia’s pace and power preferred against Raheem Sterling. The Ecuadorian did fantastically but suffered an injury after receiving a kick early on and despite playing most of the game, was unable to finish it. With the extent of his injury not really known yet, the Italian is likely to come back into the side. Another option is youngster Guillermo Varela, although he featured for the Under 21’s on Monday night so is unlikely to play.

In midfield, Louis van Gaal has options once again. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin started all three games last week for Manchester United and are due a well earned rest. Michael Carrick came on as a late substitute against Everton but didn’t play against CSKA or City so he will be fresh enough to come in for Schweinsteiger, while Marouane Fellaini is also in need of games after being restricted to substitute appearances for the most part so far this season. Both could play in the sitting role for van Gaal, with Fellaini allowed a bit more freedom to push up in attack if needs be.

The front-line has options for United but looks as exciting as ever. Jesse Lingard has finally broken into the side and after a shock start against CSKA Moscow in midweek, he came off the bench against Man City and nearly scored the winner late on. His inclusion on the right would be good to see, with Juan Mata’s form fading in recent games. His pace and skill plus his willingness to track back all fit into the van Gaal ethos, meaning it would be a seamless transition into the starting line-up for this game.

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On the left wing, Memphis is ready for a recall. The Dutch winger has been ditched by Louis van Gaal since the international break with the manager revealing that he isn’t enjoying his role as a reserve at the moment, although he insisted that he was still working hard. With Anthony Martial due a rest, Memphis’ inclusion on the left in a game with much less intensity than a Premier League game should suit him well. The 21 year old is due a big performance and after being shown that he isn’t a guaranteed starter, now may be the time for him to show it.

In the No.10 role, Ander Herrera has seemingly made it his own in recent weeks. The Spaniard has been magnificent since returning from injury into the side and has been a consistently top performer since his arrival in Louis van Gaal’s first summer. After playing all three games, Herrera is likely to be rested by van Gaal with Andreas Pereira ready to step in. The Brazilian youth international started against Ipswich in the last round and was in good form, scoring his first senior goal with a direct free-kick. He came on as a substitute against PSV Eindhoven in the following game but hasn’t featured since and will be chomping at the bit to impress once again.

Up front, van Gaal has a decision to make. With Anthony Martial likely to be given a rest, the decision falls down to out of sorts captain Wayne Rooney, or youngster James Wilson. Rooney’s performances this season, for the most part, have been absolutely awful and with van Gaal showing no signs of dropping him we should probably expect Rooney to start the game.

However, James Wilson was nowhere to be seen during the Under 21’s game on Monday night against Sunderland, hinting that he could be involved against Middlesbrough. This could be the perfect opportunity for van Gaal to leave Wayne Rooney out of the side and give him a rest out of the spotlight and give Wilson a chance at the same time.

Wilson has an 8 minute substitute appearance to his name this season and while van Gaal has previously admitted that he’s likely to leave the club on loan in January, playing him now would do no harm.

Credit: lineupbuilder.com /

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