Erik ten Hag will want to continue his 7 game unbeaten streak when Manchester United take on West Ham at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Yesterday’s resounding 3-0 victory against Sheriff allowed the boss to rest some players for part or all of the game, including Diogo Dalot, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Casemiro, Antony, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.
These absences suggest that each of these players will start against the Hammers, although in the case of Sancho things are a bit more complicated.
The England man’s form has taken a nosedive of late and he was taken off early against Chelsea after a particularly disappointing performance.
Therefore, he may not return and be given a few games to try to regroup. There are several options if that is the case. The first is that Cristiano Ronaldo continues as a center forward and that Marcus Rashford returns to the left wing.
The second option is to keep Alejandro Garnacho on the left wing after his impressive debut yesterday.
Anthony Elanga represents another alternative.
Despite speaking highly of Ronaldo after the match, Ten Hag may not have been 100% convinced that the 37-year-old is back to his best, so we think Rashford will be called upon to lead the line.
Another problem about Ronaldo’s presence is that it seems to affect Bruno Fernandes, who is visibly less vocal and captain-like in his presence and tends to always try to find his compatriot with the ball rather than shoot or select a more obvious ball. .
Sancho might get another chance with Garnacho set to take over if the former Borussia Dortmund star doesn’t deliver the goods in the first half.
With Raphael Varane out of the Reds until after the World Cup, either Victor Lindelof or Harry Maguire will be selected to partner Martinez at centre-back. Lindelof has not been wrong in that sense, so we hope that he will continue.
Tyrell Malacia did well yesterday, but Luke Shaw’s good form and increased experience should see him come back.
Casemiro and Christian Eriksen are playing superbly and will surely form the holding midfield, with Antony and Bruno Fernandes also almost certain to start.
With David de Gea in goal and Dalot at right-back, here is our eleven planned for Sunday’s game:
