Anyone notice the Tottenham crisis talks? No, us neither. Jose Mourinho and his players have been too busy getting three wins on the bounce together in attempt to resurrect Manchester United’s season after losing two Premier League games so early on.
Next up, a home game against Wolves, who play thrilling football unlike most newly promoted sides each year. They’re not afraid to express themselves and Mourinho’s midfield will need to make sure it wins every battle.
That becomes more difficult with Nemanja Matic’s absence through suspension.
READ MORE: Man Utd vs Wolves: Preview, match odds, live stream, TV info / View From The Opposition: Wolves fan on backing Mourinho, keeping hold of Neves and Jorge Mendes’ influence at Molineux
There is a lot of talk about Diogo Dalot following his debut midweek against Young Boys, however, we expect him to feature on the bench for this match.
Predicted line-up: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw; Fellaini, Fred, Pogba; Lingard, Lukaku, Martial.
The defence is pretty straight-forward. David de Gea walks into the team as he’s the best goalkeeper in the world and the centre-back partnership of Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof has been performing well but needs more time together in order to gain consistency in front of the goalkeeper, something United have missed for years despite De Gea’s heroics between the posts.
Antonio Valencia gets the nod because he’s our first choice at right-back. Mourinho won’t throw Dalot in week in week out just yet as there’s no need to… It’s a chance to blend him into the team nicely. Meanwhile, at left-back, Shaw returned from his concussion midweek and looks ready again.
The giant microphone, Marouane Fellaini, got a rest in Switzerland – only coming on as a second-half substitute to sure things up – and he will likely take up a role in the base of the midfield. Fred will then start alongside Paul Pogba, unless Mourinho wants to give Andreas Pereira extra minutes.
Romelu Lukaku will lead the line, however, his support cast may change. Marcus Rashford is suspended for the game and Anthony Martial deserves the nod over Alexis Sanchez for scoring the winner midweek. The manager should reward the Frenchman, especially given how the Chile international isn’t delivering at the moment.
Let us know in the comments section what you think of our starting eleven predictions.
