Manchester United will begin their preparations for the 2020-21 season with a friendly game against Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday.
The Red Devils, as well as arch-rivals Manchester City, were allowed an extended break due to their European commitments last season.
This weekend’s friendly with Villa will be Manchester United’s very first club friendly of this season. Villa, meanwhile, have already played four friendly games ahead of the 2020-21 season, and will be fitter than the Manchester United players on Saturday.
Manchester United Team News
Manchester United may not have a few key first-team players for the game against Villa. Left-back Luke Shaw is back and will be available, but the likes of Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe will miss out due to long-term injuries.
Marcus Rashford had to pull out of the England squad due to an ankle injury, and he may not be risked. Paul Pogba tested positive for Coronavirus two weeks ago, and he too may miss out.
Chris Smalling and Marcos have been training away from the first-team squad, and they might not feature. Predicted Manchester United Lineup vs Aston Villa.
Let’s take a look at the possible Manchester United lineup for the friendly game against Aston Villa.
Predicted Manchester United Lineup vs Aston Villa
Goalkeeper
David de Gea should start, while Dean Henderson could play the second half of the match against Villa.
Defence
Harry Maguire should start in defence, but the defender to play beside him is not certain. Victor Lindelof was the first-choice defender who often played alongside Maguire last season, but he was not consistent enough in that role and was error-prone.
Bailly could be given another opportunity by Solskjaer to assess a partnership with Maguire at the back. The duo played together at the back briefly, but the partnership couldn’t continue due to Bailly’s injury. Marcos Rojo is another option for the United manager.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw should play at right-back and left-back respectively, while Diogo Dalot, Brandon Williams and Timothy Fosu-Mensah are other options.
Midfield
We are not sure if Paul Pogba is ready to play this friendly game. If he isn’t we could see Scott McTominay and Nemanja Matic line up in midfield, while Fred could be another option. Bruno Fernandes will start in the No. 10 role, while new signing Donny van de Beek could make a second-half appearance.
Attack
If Marcus Rashford is fit, he should start on the left. If not, Daniel James could start out wide, with Anthony Martial playing upfront. Mason Greenwood could start on the right, despite being embroiled in off-field controversy recently while on international duty.
Solskjaer has said that he will rotate the team and give those that need fitness some game time ahead of their first game in the league next week.
