Manchester United are set to face FC Barcelona at the Spotify Camp Nou in the first leg of the Europa League knockout stage playoffs with Erik ten Hag missing a few key players.
Having not experienced a single victory against Barca since 2008, United will be aiming to return back home victorious against the Catalan giants, especially after a great performance against Leeds United over the weekend.
Manchester United missing key players versus Barcelona
All eyes will be set on the clash between these two great clubs with both Manchester United and Barcelona among the favorites to win the whole tournament alongside Juventus and Arsenal. After a tough week in the Premier League, maintaining their win streak, Manchester will look to continue their great form in the Europa League. Meanwhile, Barcelona are enjoying incredible form themselves, being the club with the least conceded goals in the big five league this season.
While Erik ten Hag would have hoped to have all names available for the tough clash, new arrival Marcel Sabitzer will miss the match for accumulated yellow cards during his time in Bayern Munich with Lisandro Martinez also unavailable for the same reason.
David de Gea will undoubtedly be between the posts after starting every match in the Europa League this season, with the centre-back pair of Raphael Varane and Luke Shaw ahead of him. Shaw playing in the central role would see Tyrell Malacia return as left-back. Diogo Dalot will mostly likely feature at the right-back role having played the last two games but Aaron-Wan Bissaka could also get a chance to prove his worth ahead of the Portugeuse international.
In the midfield, Fred and Casemiro are guaranteed starters barring any last minute issues, with United’s midfield suffering with injury crisis to Donny van de Beek, Christian Eriksen and Scott McTominay all unavailable; promoting the loan move for Sabitzer in the previous transfer window.
Ten Hag’s attack will see the inform Wout Weghorst lead the attacking lineup alongside Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford with Jadon Sancho taking the other flank ahead of Alejandro Garnacho especially with Anthony Martial and Antony still out injured.
Predicted Manchester United line-up vs FC Barcelona (4-3-3):
GK: De Gea
Defence: Malacia, Varane, Shaw, Wan-Bissaka
Midfield: Casemiro, Fred, Fernandes
Attack: Sancho, Weghorst, Rashford
What are your predictions for the match?