Home » Predicted Man United XI for the FA Cup final: Fred to man-mark Kevin de Bruyne

Predicted Man United XI for the FA Cup final: Fred to man-mark Kevin de Bruyne

by Red Billy


Anthony Martial has been ruled out of the FA Cup final for Manchester United after sustaining a hamstring injury in Sunday’s final Premier League match with Fulham.

Antony also looks surely to miss out, even though Erik ten Hag said there was a chance the Brazilian would recover from his own injury in time to make the game.

The fact that he was spotted on crutches on Sunday makes that seem unlikely, but perhaps he will be able to play a role from the bench.

The expected absence of the duo means that unless Wout Weghorst is pressed into action, if Ten Hag sticks to his usual formation, United’s forward line almost picks itself, with Alejandro Garnacho on the left wing, Jadon Sancho on the right and Marcus Rashford through the middle.

Ten Hag will not be too worried about that as the trio are all in top form right now.

Bruno Fernandes would in this case be in support in the number 10 role and Christian Eriksen and Casemiro would probably play in the dual pivot.

Another option Ten Hag might consider is to sacrifice one of the forward players for an extra midfielder as he did against City when United beat them at Old Trafford in January.

Fred provided the extra man on that occasion and did an excellent job of nullifying Kevin de Bruyne.

We expect Ten Hag to use a similar system again, so it will be Rashford up top, with Sancho, Eriksen and Fernandes supporting him and Fred and Casemiro in the holding midfield roles.

In defence, Luke Shaw is expected to come in at left back and Raphael Varane and Aaron Wan-Bissaka to return in the right hand positions after being rested against Fulham.

Victor Lindelof and David de Gea will keep their places.

With all that in mind, here is our predicted XI for the FA Cup final:

 




Imagine an FA Cup Final programme, but 100% online!
With just a couple of clicks you could be reading the FA Cup final special edition of United Matchday Magazine, right here on your device. All the latest news, meet the teams, tactical preview, opinion, debate, transfer news, quiz and much more! Get yours now for just £3/$3.75 and
be in the know about everything in red!


Latest Top Stories...