Erik ten Hag has named his first starting line-up as Manchester United manager, leaving Cristiano Ronaldo out of the starting XI for this afternoon's Premier League opener against Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford, kick-off 2pm.
United, who were thrashed 4-0 by the Seagulls in their most recent meeting back in May, will be determined to make a winning start to the campaign and kick the Ten Hag era off in style. The Reds enjoyed a relatively encouraging pre-season, winning three of their six friendlies.
They concluded their pre-season preparations with a 1-1 draw at home to Rayo Vallecano last Sunday, as Ten Hag fielded a much-changed team, mainly featuring players who had not featured as much as they would have hoped for in Thailand and Australia. The Dutchman made it his mission over pre-season to hand out as many opportunities as possible to almost every member of his squad.
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From the side that drew with Vallecano a week ago, Ten Hag has made nine changes, meaning it has come as no great surprise. Summer signings Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen are the only duo to keep their places.
Elsewhere, it appears as though Bruno Fernandes will start in the front-three, with both Anthony Elanga and Ronaldo among the substitutes. Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford have both been awarded starting berths.
Meanwhile, Tyrell Malacia, Raphael Varane and youngster Alejandro Garnacho are among those on substitutes bench, which is now made up of nine players.
It is Ronaldo's absence from the starting line-up that has, to no surprise, attracted the most attention from United's supporters in the immediate aftermath of the team news being confirmed. Below, MEN Sport has taken a close look at what they have had to say in response to the decision.
As you can see from the messages displayed in the tweets above, United's supporters have welcomed Ten Hag's decision to leave Ronaldo on the bench. He earned just 45 minutes worth of football in pre-season and is not at the same level of fitness as everyone else within the squad.
United starting line-up: De Gea; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw; McTominay, Fred, Eriksen; Rashford, Fernandes, Sancho.
Substitutes: Heaton, Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Malacia, Garner, Van de Beek, Elanga, Garnacho, Ronaldo.
This afternoon's contest at Old Trafford kicks-off in less than an hour's time and you can follow all of the action live on our matchday blog, which you can access by clicking here.
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