Cristiano Ronaldo and Antony in – Predicted Manchester United starting XI vs Sheriff Tiraspol as Ten Hag Makes five Changes
Erik ten Hag is expected to name a solid starting lineup for Manchester United’s Europa League match.
Manchester United will be missing five players for Thursday’s trip to Moldova. The Reds will be trying to avenge last week’s 1-0 Europa League loss to Real Sociedad, but will be missing the in-form Marcus Rashford, who has three goals in his previous four outings.
Meanwhile, Donny van de Beek, Martin Dubravka, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are all out, and Anthony Martial is still recovering from an Achilles injury. Erik ten Hag will be able to choose a stronger starting lineup than he might have imagined given the recent Premier League fixture postponement due to The Queen’s death.
Their match against Crystal Palace on Sunday was postponed, forcing them to reschedule this weekend’s encounter against Leeds. United have not played since their defeat to Sociedad, before which they observed a minute’s silence in commemoration of The Queen, who died just hours earlier.
As a result, players have had a full week of rest, which means that marginal players may not get the game time they would have hoped for. Given the absences of Rashford and Martial, Cristiano Ronaldo might start a second consecutive game for the first time this season.
In front of a midfield trio of Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, and Bruno Fernandes, he would most likely be flanked by Antony – who would make his third consecutive start since his deadline day arrival – and Jadon Sancho.
The back five, which includes Diogo Dalot, Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, and Tyrell Malacia, is also expected to be formidable. Luke Shaw has returned from injury but is unlikely to start, while Fred and Scott McTominay might potentially come off the bench.
De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Malacia; Casemiro, Eriksen, Fernandes; Sancho, Ronaldo, and Antony are the predicted starting XI.
