Manchester United face Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday with Michael Carrick waiting on several fitness decisions, most notably those involving Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo.
Manuel Ugarte is definitely unavailable with a long-term injury, while Amad is unlikely to be ready to start after missing the behind-closed-doors friendly against Lausanne. Carrick’s press conference on Thursday lunchtime should provide a clearer picture.
United’s fitness picture ahead of Tottenham
Amad could potentially make the bench if he has returned to training, but a starting role would appear unlikely given his lack of minutes during the international break.
Patrick Dorgu is also unavailable after suffering a hamstring injury while playing for Denmark. That could mean he will be unavailable for several weeks.
Noussair Mazraoui sustained a lower back injury while representing Morocco and must be considered doubtful. Rashford’s condition is another important variable, while Mainoo withdrew from England duty because of an undisclosed issue.
Benjamin Sesko is ruled out, forcing Carrick to find another solution through the middle. Josh Zirkzee is an alternative, although he does not currently appear to be at the forefront of the head coach’s thinking.
Goalkeeper and Defence
Senne Lammens should start in goal, with Diogo Dalot the leading candidate at right-back. Dalot is fit and therefore represents the safer selection while Mazraoui’s availability remains uncertain.
Leny Yoro strengthened his case to be the starting right centre-back with an excellent debut for France during the international break, but Carrick is likely to retain Harry Maguire alongside Lisandro Martinez in central defence.
Matthijs de Ligt featured against Lausanne and could return to the matchday squad. A place on the bench, followed by a possible second-half appearance, looks more realistic than an immediate start.
Luke Shaw should continue at left-back if fit. With Dorgu out, Harry Amass is the only natural alternative, although Martinez could move wide if Carrick wanted to introduce Yoro, De Ligt or Ayden Heaven centrally.
Midfield
Youri Tielemans is expected to occupy one of the two deeper midfield positions. Mainoo should partner him if he recovers in time, but the youngster’s withdrawal from international duty makes this one of the difficult calls.
Carlos Baleba looked sharp during his unofficial debut in the Lausanne friendly and is the obvious replacement if Mainoo cannot start. Even so, Carrick is likely to favour continuity rather than hand Baleba an immediate competitive debut if Mainoo is cleared.
Attack
Bruno Fernandes is the straightforward selection at number 10, but the three positions ahead of him depend heavily on Rashford’s availability and Carrick’s preferred centre-forward solution.
If Rashford is passed fit, Matheus Cunha could continue to operate as a false nine, with Rashford on the left and Bryan Mbeumo starting from the right.
However, we suspect that Rashford will not have recovered from injury. In that scenario, Cunha would move to the left, Mbeumo would lead the line and Shea Lacey would come in on the right.
Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount are other options.
Final Thoughts
- Ugarte, Dorgu and Sesko are unavailable, Rashford may also be ruled out.
- Amad is unlikely to be ready to start.
- Mainoo is preferred if he passes a fitness check.
- Mbeumo could lead the line if Rashford misses out.
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Tie-breaker question: predict the match score as well.
Featured image by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
