Anthony Martial has returned to training for Manchester United but is unlikely to start Thursday’s Europa League match against Real Sociedad.
Although he is yet to reach his best form, we expect Cristiano Ronaldo to lead the line, with Marcus Rashford playing in an inverted left wing position alongside him, as was the case against West Ham.
Jadon Sancho has missed the last two games due to poor form and this game is too crucial to experiment with what effect it might have had on him so we expect him to remain sidelined.
Antony missed the West Ham game with a minor injury, but Erik ten Hag seemed confident it was “just a couple of days” so he is expected to be fit in time.
If he does not succeed, the chosen ones are Sancho, Anthony Elanga and Alejandro Garnacho.
Garnacho is the youngest and least experienced, but of the three it is by far the best.
It is almost certain that Bruno Fernandes will play in the number 10 position, especially since he will be absent on Sunday due to suspension.
In midfield we expect business as usual, with the excellent Casemiro – Christian Eriksen combo.
David de Gea, Diogo Dalot, Lisandro MartÃnez and Luke Shaw seem almost certain to continue in defense.
The question is who will be MartÃnez’s partner if VÃctor Lindelof has recovered from the illness.
Lindelof had been excellent alongside the Argentine, but captain Harry Maguire returned to the team in his absence on Sunday and kept a clean sheet.
We think Lindelof should be given the nod as Maguire looked a bit shaky and got out of position on a few occasions against West Ham.
With all that in mind, here is our anticipated starting XI for the 5:45pm kick-off in San Sebastian:
