Anthony Martial and Donny van de Beek will return while Paul Pogba is likely to be benched when Manchester United face Istanbul Basaksehir on Wednesday.
Manchester United will hope to make it three wins in three in the UEFA Champions League when they lock horns with Istanbul Basaksehir at the Fatih Terim Stadium on Wednesday night. And, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has pretty much the same squad at his disposal this midweek as he did on the weekend, with the exception of Anthony Martial.
The Frenchman was unavailable to take on Arsenal as he served out the third of his three-match ban. Otherwise, Solskjaer is bereft of the services of just three first-team players, with Eric Bailly out injured while Jesse Lingard is continuing his recovery from a knock after resuming light work on the field.
?️ “If we play to our best we hope to get the points we need [to qualify],” says Ole.
“Hopefully tomorrow night we can stamp our authority on this group and pick up three straight [Champions League] wins.”#MUFC #UCL pic.twitter.com/A8iUNatQV6
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 3, 2020
Alex Telles is the third and final absentee for Manchester United, with the Brazilian international in isolation due to his ongoing recovery from the coronavirus. Solskjaer provided an update on the players who are on the sidelines while speaking with MUTV ahead of the game.
“Jesse has trained. We’ll see if there is any reaction. He trained today [Monday]. We’ll see if there is any reaction. He might be able to travel to Istanbul but we’re not sure yet. It’s looking brighter. Alex needs to be negative on his next test, so let’s hope we can get him back as soon as possible.”
Solskjaer is expected to revert to his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation after the midfield diamond experiment failed to work wonders against Arsenal. Paul Pogba, in particular, was dreadful on the day and is likely to drop down to the bench.
In fact, the midfield should have a new-look double pivot, with Scott McTominay and Fred being given a breather after starting every game in the past month. In their stead, Nemanja Matic and Donny van de Beek will be handed rare starts, while Bruno Fernandes will continue reprising the no. 10 role.
The return of Anthony Martial should see the Frenchman lead the line for Manchester United, with Edinson Cavani being an option off the bench once again. Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, who formed the strike partnership against Arsenal, will be the two wide men versus Istanbul Basaksehir.
On the opposite end, there is no looking past David de Gea, who has been quite solid in goal lately. Finally, in defence, a solitary change could be on the cards, with Axel Tuanzebe being given a chance to impress. Tuanzebe will partner Harry Maguire at the heart of the Manchester United defence, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw continuing as the full-back pairing.
Manchester United Predicted XI: de Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Tuanzebe, Maguire, Shaw; Matic, van de Beek; Greenwood, Bruno Fernandes, Rashford; Martial
