Sidney Sladen
Predicted Manchester United XI vs St-Etienne
Manchester United finished as runners-up in Group A of the UEFA Europa League this season and booked their place in the Round-of-32. The stage is all set for the knockout fixture against the historic St-Etienne.
There were no reported injury setbacks from the game against Watford where United comfortably triumphed 2-0. Martial sizzled on the pitch and announced to the world that he is ready to fight for his place in the United XI.
Mourinho made a couple of changes to the Europa League squad after Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay departed the club. Sam Johnstone has also been removed after he was loaned out to Aston Villa.
Bastian Schweinsteiger and goalkeeper Joel Pereira have been included in the updated squad that was submitted to UEFA for the remainder of the tournament.
Here’s how the Red Devils may line-up against the French club.
Goalkeeper:
David De Gea
Mourinho has given De Gea and Romero 3 games each this season in Europa League. Given that it is important to progress to the round of 16, the Portuguese may very well stick with his best goalkeeper.
Defence: Matteo Darmian; Chris Smalling; Marcos Rojo; Luke Shaw
United have plenty of options at the back and we can expect fringe players like Shaw and Darmian to get the nod ahead of regulars like Valencia and Blind. Shaw has struggled for game time this season and his injury problems have only added to it. It is time maybe for the young left-back to get his chance.
Central Midfield: Bastian Schweinsteiger; Ander Herrera
The inclusion of Bastian Schweinsteiger in the squad makes sense as it is important to have a player of such experience when going into an important phase of the tournament. It would be easy to understand why if Bastian starts against St-Etienne.
Attacking Midfield: Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba has looked settled in the past few games and is an easy choice for Jose to pick. He will fancy coming up against his elder brother Florentin Pogba and Mourinho has also spoken about a potential face-off between the French Brothers. It is possible he may start.
The Wings: Anthony Martial; Henrikh Mkhitaryan
These two are easy picks really. Martial was simply outstanding against Watford and is easy to see why he would start. Mkhitaryan, with the kind of form that he is in, is simply irremovable from the team.
Striker: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
He may be 35 years old, but Zlatan is second to none when it comes to fitness levels. He is still a master class player on the pitch and has been phenomenal for United so far. #DaretoZlatan
Here’s how they may line-up
