Manchester United will be hoping to keep their hopes of winning Group E alive when they welcome Sheriff Tiraspol to Old Trafford in their penultimate Europa League group game on Thursday night.
United, who beat the Moldovan outfit 2-0 in the reverse fixture last month, will head into the contest one place and three points behind current table-toppers Real Sociedad, who, of course, they face in Spain next week. United will qualify for the knockout stages with a point against Sheriff, but will need to win to keep their hopes of topping the group alive and avoid an unwanted play-off round in February, such is the likelihood of Sociedad beating Omonia Nicosia.
The Reds, however, will head into the clash with Sheriff, who will arrive at Old Trafford without a manager after Stjepan Tomas resigned on Tuesday, with a spring in their step, fuelled with confidence after Casemiro's late header against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. That extended the Reds' unbeaten run in all competitions to six matches.
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Such is the importance of getting all three points against Sheriff, manager Erik ten Hag, as he has throughout United's Europa League campaign so far, is expected to go with as strong a starting line-up as possible, meaning David de Gea is poised to start in goal. He has started every group game so far, keeping two clean sheets.
Ahead of him, Ten Hag is going to be forced into at least one change in defence, following Raphael Varane's injury blow. He was forced off on the hour mark against Chelsea and has been ruled out for several weeks. In his absence, Victor Lindelof is expected to come in.
That means the Swede will join Lisandro Martinez in the heart of the defence, flanked by Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw in the two full-back positions. Dalot has started every game in all competitions this season and Shaw has recently moved ahead of Tyrell Malacia in the left-back battle.
It is in midfield where Ten Hag could face the biggest selection headache. Christian Eriksen returned to the side at the expense of Fred against Chelsea and produced a typically classy performance alongside Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro in the engine room.
Although Fred impressed against Tottenham Hotspur in United's last Old Trafford outing, and United have a congested fixture schedule to deal with, Ten Hag is likely to stick with his strongest midfield trio. Fred is likely to start on the bench.
All eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo as far as the attack is concerned. He was left out of the squad that drew with Chelsea and it remains to be seen if he will be thrown straight back into the starting line-up, or forced to start from the bench again.
Antony is a guaranteed starter on the right-wing and Marcus Rashford, too, is also likely to start, operating through the middle. Jadon Sancho's form has been poor in recent weeks and he could be lucky to hold onto his starting berth, meaning Anthony Elanga, who has stepped off the bench in each of the Reds' last two Premier League matches, could come in and bag a rare start on the left-wing.
Predicted line-up vs Sheriff Tiraspol: De Gea; Dalot, Lindelof, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen, Fernandes; Antony, Rashford, Elanga.
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