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Bruno Fernandes, Hojlund and Antony to start as Erik Ten Hag makes 3 major changes – Man United predicted Starting XI vs West Ham, confirmed team news and injury latest
Bruno Fernandes, Hojlund and Antony to start as Erik Ten Hag makes 3 major changes – Man United predicted Starting XI vs West Ham, confirmed team news and injury latest
Erik ten Hag has a few selection dilemmas amid an extensive absentee list ahead of a festive trip to London
Manchester United are juggling an extensive injury list ahead of their weekend Premier League trip to West Ham.
Erik ten Hag’s side head to the London Stadium for their final pre-Christmas fixture on Saturday afternoon looking to build on the positives gained from their goalless draw with title contenders Liverpool at Anfield last weekend.
The visitors will have Bruno Fernandes back in action in Stratford after their captain was suspended for the meeting with their fiercest rivals for collecting his fifth yellow card of the campaign in the dismal 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth.
But Diogo Dalot will miss out against West Ham after his controversial late sending off on Merseyside, with dissent seeing him pick up a pair of yellow cards in a matter of seconds from referee Michael Oliver.
None of Harry Maguire, Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen, Mason Mount, Tyrell Malacia or Amad Diallo are expected to be back for United, though Victor Lindelof could be in contention to return along with Anthony Martial.
Jadon Sancho, meanwhile, remains unavailable for selection and is expected to depart Old Trafford during the January transfer window amid his ongoing stand-off with the under-fire Ten Hag.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka should replace the suspended Dalot in a like-for-like change at right-back, while a fit Lindelof could be preferred to Jonny Evans without Maguire after Raphael Varane showed his class at Anfield.
The return of Fernandes should result in Scott McTominay being pushed back from No10 into a more familiar holding midfield role, leaving Ten Hag to pick between impressive youngster Kobbie Mainoo or the experience of summer signing Sofyan Amrabat alongside the Scot.
Another conundrum for Ten Hag is in the final third, where he must decide whether or not to restore an out-of-sorts Marcus Rashford to the starting XI at the expense of either Antony or Alejandro Garnacho, both of whom flash their quality but often lack end product.
Predicted Manchester United XI (4-2-3-1): Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Varane, Shaw; McTominay, Mainoo; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund
Doubts: Lindelof, Martial
Injured: Maguire, Casemiro, Martinez, Mount, Malacia, Eriksen, Diallo
Suspended: Dalot
Unavailable: Sancho
Time and date: 12.30pm GMT on Saturday, December 23, 2023
Venue: London Stadium