SUGGESTED STARTING XI: Manchester United host PSG at Old Trafford in the Champions League L16!
By Ollie Slack
It doesn’t get much bigger than this. Old Trafford will be buzzing tonight as Manchester United take on Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League. But who will Ole Gunnar Solskjaer pick in his lineup? Who can handle the pressure on the big occasion? Our site experts pick their starting XI’s for the match.
Ali Akbar
Diogo Dalot did relatively well against Fulham, but since this is a big game, Young is a safer and more experienced option at right back.
Although I’d like to see Bailly become Lindelof’s centre-back partner in the long term, he can be too rash in big games, so Jones should be trusted instead.
The midfield three of Pogba, Matic and Herrera has been a joy to watch under Solskjaer and should, therefore, remain unchanged.
Although Lingard provides good movement when he plays centrally, he’s not as effective on the right wing, so Lukaku should start there instead – as he did against Arsenal.
David de Gea
Ashley Young, Phil Jones, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw
Ander Herrera, Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba
Romelu Lukaku, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial
Ollie Slack
I’m in agreement with Ali, Diogo Dalot provided United with a great attacking threat against Fulham but still looks defensively naive. Ashley Young will come back in at right-back and Luke Shaw will continue at left-back.
The central defensive pairing is the hardest selection to make ahead of tonight’s match. I wrote a piece earlier today about the different options Solskjaer has (above).
For me, the ideal choice would be Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof who have shown over the past couple of seasons to have the best understanding as a pair. However, with the Englishman just returning from injury it seems to be a very tight call between Jones and Bailly. I’d pick Bailly, just.
The midfield three remains unchanged, as ever! The three of them were terrific against Fulham with Paul Pogba’s performance demonstrating why he is almost considered world class.
Jesse Lingard has to come back in for tonight’s match. Lukaku was pretty anonymous on Saturday and the counter-attacking pace and power of Lingard, Rashford and Martial is something PSG would not be looking forward to whatsoever.
David de Gea
Ashley Young, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw
Ander Herrera, Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba
Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial