Bruno Fernandes and Raphael Varane will return when Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers face off on Monday.
Manchester United will be hoping to continue their unbeaten run under Ralf Rangnick when they play hosts to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford on Monday evening. And the interim boss has been handed a major boost on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Bruno Fernandes is back at Rangnick’s disposal after serving his one-match suspension earlier this week against Burnley. The Portuguese international’s return to contention leaves Victor Lindelof and Paul Pogba as the only absentees versus Wolves.
In Lindelof’s continued absence, Raphael Varane and Harry Maguire will pair up at the heart of the Manchester United defence, with the former replacing Eric Bailly in the starting lineup. Out wide, Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot should be the two full-backs, with the latter coming in for Aaron Wan-Bissaka. In goal, there is no looking past David de Gea.
Rangnick should line his side up in his usual 4-2-2-2 formation, and in the double-pivot in midfield, Scott McTominay will likely have Fred as his partner. Nemanja Matic will make way for the Brazilian international in the middle of the park.
As for the two attacking midfielders, Bruno Fernandes is expected to be reinstated to the starting lineup despite his inconsistent performances in recent weeks. Fernandes’s playmaking partner will be Jadon Sancho, leaving Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood on the bench.
While Greenwood and Rashford are options for the strike partnership, they are unlikely to start. Instead, experienced stalwarts Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani should retain their tandem in the final third. And in his pre-match press conference, Rangnick spoke about Cavani and Ronaldo.
The Manchester United interim boss said, “Today, I didn’t see any reason why he shouldn’t be able to play another game. Physically he seems to be fit. He is doing everything. He is a top professional, he looks after himself and after his body, he eats the right things.”
“At the age of 36 I have never seen a player at this age, maybe [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic is a little bit older but is a different kind of player, but I don’t see why he shouldn’t able to play three games in eight days but if at one stage we need to rest him it is no problem, but then it’s even more important to have Edinson in the squad.”
Cavani and Ronaldo should once again combine around the Wolves box, with Rangnick depending on the duo for goals on Monday. Rashford and Greenwood will be options on the bench later in the game if required.
Predicted Manchester United XI: de Gea; Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Shaw; McTominay, Fred; Bruno Fernandes, Sancho; Ronaldo, Cavani
Good one but greenwood need game time