Pranav Nair
Luke Shaw and Paul Pogba could return for Manchester United vs Middlesbrough
As confirmed by the club’s official site, Manchester United could call up the services of first-team stars Luke Shaw and Paul Pogba for their FA Cup clash against Middlesbrough.
The Red Devils take on the Riverside club in their FA Cup fourth-round tie at the Theatre of Dreams this weekend. It presents Ralf Rangnick with yet another opportunity to break the club’s trophy drought.
He will of course be boosted by the news that Pogba and Shaw might be available. The former, especially, is yet to feature under the German after getting injured while on international duty last year. Shaw on the other side has struggled to impress and is arguably below Alex Telles in the pecking order at left-back.
The duo might not be the only players to return for Man United. Aaron Wan-Bissaka could return from illness and it remains to be seen if Victor Lindelof and Jadon Sancho will also return to contention after missing our win over West Ham United last time around.
Meanwhile, Fred, Alex Telles and Edinson Cavani were involved in the South American world cup qualifiers. The trio now faces a race against time to start the game against Middlesbrough. Fred and Telles have both thrived under Rangnick and not having them available would be a serious blow for the German.
Despite potential absentees, Rangnick should have enough options available in order to defeat the Championship side. They have however experienced an upturn in fortunes since Chris Wilder took over and Man United will do well to keep their spider senses on.
The Red Devils are coming off the back of a difficult 1-0 win against Aston Villa in the previous round. We might not have been at our best but wins over Villa and West Ham in the Premier League shows that the side has what it takes to get over the line.
The FA Cup represents an excellent opportunity for Rangnick to win a trophy in his brief time in charge. Whether we will go on to achieve it remains to be seen.
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12-time winners of the FA Cup, Manchester United are only behind Arsenal in the list of the most successful sides in the competition. The Red Devils went all the way the last time in 2016 when they defeated Crystal Palace in extra time at Wembley. Whether Rangnick and co can add number 13 to the list remains to be seen.
