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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Richard Fay

Manchester United have four big decisions to make vs Atletico Madrid

Manchester United will be hoping for another famous European night when they travel to face Atletico Madrid tonight (Wednesday).

Ralf Rangnick's side have struggled for consistency over the past few weeks but will be eager to prove they have finally turned a corner after victory over fierce rivals Leeds at the weekend.

Even in that win at Elland Road, United displayed plenty of contrasting positives and negatives, with a need for improvement required if they are to make an unlikely bid for the Champions League title.

In order to do so, Rangnick will need to get his team selection spot on and, ahead of the first leg against Atletico, he has four selection dilemmas to solve.

MEN Sport runs through them here:

Right-back

Aaron Wan-Bissaka was a surprise selection against Leeds and it would be another shock to see him start on Wednesday night.

The English full-back made some fine recovery challenges, as you'd expect, but struggled against the pace of former teammate Daniel James and did not cover himself in glory for either of the hosts' goals.

Wan-Bissaka is clearly favoured as the more defensive option on the right side of defence, but Diogo Dalot has been in better form and is playing arguably the best football of his career.

Rangnick's selection at right-back will tell us a lot about his gameplan for the match.

Manchester United right-back Diogo Dalot. (Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images.)

Centre-back

A big decision also comes at centre-back, with Victor Lindelof and Raphael Varane both battling to partner club captain Harry Maguire in the heart of the defence.

After an impressive string of recent performances, Lindelof is the in-form option, and he played a key role against Leeds at the weekend with his line-breaking passes and his dribbling skills.

It would certainly be harsh to drop the Swede but there is a world-class replacement in Varane, who will be fired up against the side he used to torment during his days at Real Madrid.

United have three players vying for just two spots.

Midfield set-up

Another key component will be striking the right balance in midfield against a vastly experienced Atletico side.

Scott McTominay seems a certainty for the deeper role and Bruno Fernandes' starting spot has all-but been confirmed after he appeared at the pre-match press conference on Tuesday. It leaves Fred and Paul Pogba vying for the final midfield spot, with arguments for either of them starting.

In games of such magnitude, Fred and McTominay are usually preferred, and it probably makes the most sense to start the Brazilian given he can play as either a No.8 in a 4-3-3 or drop deeper when out of possession to form a 4-2-3-1.

Fred of Manchester United celebrates with teammate Scott McTominay. (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Pogba remains the most talented midfielder at the club, but he is perhaps better suited to a bench role if he isn't starting in another position. Speaking of which...

Final wing role

Jadon Sancho is not only United's most in-form player right now, but he is one of the best performers in all of Europe as well. His starting role on Wednesday night is practically set in stone.

It means there is one other attacking role up for grabs, and with Sancho capable of performing on either wing, it will be fascinating to see who Rangnick sides with.

At Leeds at the weekend, Pogba impressed whenever he drifted onto the left, but the issue with picking him is that he can't switch flanks as freely with Sancho during the match, given his limitations as an inverted forward.

Anthony Elanga or Marcus Rashford might therefore be better suited to the final attacking role given their flexibility to play in either position.

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