Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is without three of his preferred back four tonight against Villarreal, but Jadon Sancho gets a deserved start to prove himself on a night it feels Manchester United are up against it.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is suspended for two games after his straight red card last time out in the UEFA Champions League, while Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw sustained injuries against Aston Villa at the weekend.
Villarreal are without Gerard Moreno, who scored in the Europa League final win over United in May, and Juan Foyth hobbled off in their draw versus Real Madrid.
Manchester United’s starting eleven: De Gea, Dalot, Lindelof, Varane, Telles, McTominay, Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Sancho, Ronaldo, Greenwood.
It looks like Pogba will drop deeper and sit alongside McTominay with no place for Fred in the starting XI. That should see United speed up transitions through the middle to the forward players.
Hopefully our defence won’t have much to do on the night.
🚨 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐗𝐈 🔴
Presenting your United team to take on Villarreal… 👊#MUFC | #UCL
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 29, 2021
It is worth noting Cristiano Ronaldo’s return against Villarreal before the game since he starts. The Portuguese superstar has 13 goals in 19 career appearances against the La Liga side, though only two have been scored in his last six.
