Manchester United take on Real Sociedad in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg on Thursday evening at Old Trafford, after winning the first leg 4-0 in Turin.
The Reds already have one foot in Friday’s draw for the round of 16, with the first leg giving Ole Gunnar Solskjaer the opportunity to rest more players and experiment with youngsters who are on the verge of breaking into the team.
While all of us can agree that the tie is done and dusted, we are still going to predict United’s XI versus Real Sociedad.
Dean Henderson will keep his place in between the sticks for this one. And he deserves to after keeping a clean sheet against the same opposition last week. I’m eager to see him make more appearances because serious questions need to be asked of David de Gea ahead of next season.
Alex Telles should replace Luke Shaw at left-back and I think Brandon Williams will come in for Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Solskjaer should also take the opportunity to rest Harry Maguire, with Eric Bailly and Axel Tuanzebe both needing minutes on the pitch.
In midfield we could see a trio of Nemanja Matic, Fred and Juan Mata – but my biggest fear is whether there will be enough passing quality from deep positions in order for the Spaniard to feed United’s attacking players.
Up front I think we’ll see Daniel James, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood.
United predicted XI: Henderson; Williams, Tuanzebe, Bailly, Telles; Matic, Fred, Mata; Greenwood, James, Martial.
I don’t expect our Basque opponents to roll over and throw the towel in on Thursday night. They’re a decent side and will be too proud for such shenanigans.
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