When Manchester United visit the Nou Camp for the first leg of their Europa League play-off tie with Barcelona on Thursday, they will be without a key duo. Both Lisandro Martinez and Marcel Sabitzer are suspended and will play no part in the hotly-anticipated clash.
Barcelona will be without some key men themselves, with Sergio Busquets and Ousmane Dembele out injured. While it has long been known that Martinez would not feature in the match in Spain - with the defender having accumulated three yellow cards in the group stage - it has been somewhat overlooked given how long it has been since United's last game in Europe.
However, he will also be joined on the sidelines by January signing Sabitzer, whose three bookings in the Champions League group stage carry over to the Europa League. The Austrian midfielder was yellow carded three times while playing for parent club Bayern Munich earlier this campaign.
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The absence of Sabitzer will come as a blow, especially given the lack of options in midfield due to injuries, but United being without Martinez will be more troubling for Erik ten Hag. The Argentine has formed a solid partnership with Raphael Varane, and the Reds look a better side when they are both on the pitch. Therefore, he will be missed - and a decision on who partners Varane will have to be made.
Club captain Harry Maguire was handed a start in United's 2-0 victory over Leeds on Sunday, but the England international didn't look overly convincing. It came as a surprise to see Luke Shaw play alongside him, especially with Varane on the bench. Shaw has impressed at centre-back when called upon this term, and with Victor Lindelof remaining an unused substitute at the weekend, Ten Hag might have already hinted at his centre-back pairing for the game against Barcelona on Thursday.
Varane should start against the Catalan giants, and with Maguire and Lindelof both struggling for minutes this season, there is a good chance Ten Hag goes with Shaw alongside the Frenchman. He has played five times in that role this term - and his manager has already explained what he likes about the England ace in that position.
When discussing why he likes having a left-footed player on the left side, Ten Hag previously stated: "Because the left-footed are better orientated on the left side, in possession you then have better angles."
Shaw played at centre-back against Nottingham Forest and Wolves in the Premier League, but the real test came when he played there against Manchester City in the derby. There was some surprise Ten Hag retained Shaw at centre half in place of Martinez, but it worked.
"It is a big decision but I think when you analyse the profile of (Erling) Haaland and the combination with (Kevin) De Bruyne it was also the right decision," Ten Hag explained in January. "Because Luke has the physical power to compete with them and also has the tactical view to make the right decision and technical skills to play in that position.
"So I think it matched really well but I think in other games he can contribute even more on the left in the wide positions, so it’s a tactical choice and we can see from game to game what we need. And I think we have more players in our squad who have the capacity to be multi-functional and we can use that as a weapon in games."
It is no real surprise that Ten Hag has prioritised having a left-footed player on the left side of defence. After signing Martinez in the summer, the Dutchman admitted that he had analysed the Reds in the previous year and noticed that they would benefit in possession with the addition of the Argentine.
With Barcelona in such good form, it is clearly a massive blow for United to be without one of their first-choice central defenders. Yet, Shaw has already demonstrated that he can thrive in that position against one of the most dangerous strikers in the world in Haaland, so he will be confident about doing the same against Robert Lewandowski if he does indeed start in that role.
Ten Hag has already demonstrated that he is not afraid to play players out of position in pressure matches, so Shaw partnering Varane against the Catalan outfit appears to be something United will seriously contemplate.
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