Sunday could be a big day for Manchester United’s new-look defensive partnership. If Argentina and France can confirm favouritism over the next two nights then Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, partners at the back for their club, will go head-to-head in the World Cup final.
Those two are the last men standing for United in Qatar and having entered the final week they will now be on duty until the weekend at least, with the third/fourth place play-off taking place on Saturday.
That will inevitably delay their return to Carrington. United wanted to give every player a week off after the tournament and if they reach the final there will be heightened emotions to factor in.
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The winner will want to return to his country to celebrate, the loser will take time to overcome the mental dejection of losing the biggest game in football. It’s unlikely either would be back at United before the Premier League resumes against Nottingham Forest on December 27.
That could rule the central defenders out of the games against Forest and Wolves on New Year’s Eve as they ease their way back into club duty. Martinez has been United’s outstanding player in the first half of the season and Varane was impressive until picking up an injury against Chelsea on October 22.
The duo will be a loss but it’s to United’s benefit that their league campaign resumes against two of the Premier League’s bottom three, when Erik ten Hag’s side should be confident of a maximum points haul.
With Martinez and Varane likely to be unavailable, it will mean a return to the partnership of Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof. Maguire will return to United on the back of an excellent World Cup and with a challenge from Ten Hag ringing in his ears, to replicate his consistent performances on the international stage with his club outfit.
Ten Hag was honest in his assessment that Maguire had “performed badly” for a period at United and it does seem that the pressure or the way his club play make it more difficult for the 29-year-old to perform as he does for England.
Lindelof is a more consistent performer for United and having been absent from the World Cup with Sweden failing to qualify, he has been training at Carrington and in Spain with his club outfit. He will be up to speed and ready to go next week.
Maguire and Lindelof were usually Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first-choice partnership and remained so for much of last season, with Varane struggling with injuries after his £42million move from Real Madrid.
They have been edged out under Ten Hag, however, becoming squad players at best. Before the World Cup, it appeared that Lindelof was third-choice and Maguire fourth. For all of Ten Hag’s praise for the England man’s performances in the World Cup and his ability, having an £80million defender as club captain and fourth choice is clearly unsustainable.
So the next few weeks are big for Maguire, when he will once again be the defensive leader for United. Ten Hag has started him next to Lindelof just twice, in the Europa League defeat to Real Sociedad and the Carabao Cup win against Aston Villa.
Success for Martinez and Varane in Qatar means that Maguire and Lindelof will be reunited over Christmas. The former, certainly, has a point to prove.
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