Edinson Cavani is a doubt for Manchester United ahead of tomorrow’s home Premier League tie against Brighton.
Cavani missed Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Southampton and after the game, manager Ralf Rangnick admitted he was unsure whether he would recover in time for Brighton.
‘I thought and was told after training yesterday that he would be available for today [Southampton],’ the boss explained to Manutd.com.
‘But, after training, the doctor came to see me and then I spoke to Edi and I told them let’s wait until this morning before the game and see if treatment can make things any better.
‘But then I spoke to him today before we had breakfast and he said to me that the pain is too big and he cannot play.’
Elsewhere in the team, we will stick to the our predicted defence for the Southampton tie which proved to be wrong on that occasion, with Alex Telles coming in for Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelof coming in for Harry Maguire.
The defence as a whole was poor against the Saints and Shaw’s positioning coupled with Maguire’s lack of pace is something that Rangnick needs to address.
With few options, It will probably be business as usual in midfield, with Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba ahead of Scott McTominay. Nemanja Matic is ruled out with a leg injury and Fred has been missing due to Covid-19.
If the Brazilian has recovered he may be drafted in to add some energy to the middle of the park. However, if replacing Fernandes or Pogba, this would be at the expense of creativity and United need goals.
Up front, Jadon Sancho’s fine form should see him continue on the left wing and with Cavani a doubt, Ronaldo should start again up top. This leaves a choice between Marcus Rashford and Anthony Elanga for the right wing spot.
Rashford probably did well enough against Southampton to keep his place. Jesse Lingard is another option.
With all that in mind, here is our predicted XI for tomorrow’s 8.15pm kick off:
