EPLFeature

Probable Starting XI for Manchester United Against Norwich City

Ralf Rangnick’s arrival at Manchester United has seen the club registering two decent performances yet. A win over Crystal Palace last Sunday was followed by a tie against BSC Young Boys. Their undefeated home run under their new manager has received a lot of praise but a new test awaits Manchester United as they will be facing Norwich City away from home tomorrow.

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Just like Manchester United, Norwich had also undergone a managerial change. The club appointed former Aston Villa manager Dean Smith as the replacement of their long-serving German head coach Daniel Farke. Smith’s stint at the club has seen them register 5 points in four games.

Norwich is hosting Rangnick’s team at Carrow Road Stadium on the back of an away defeat in the hands of Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspurs. They are at the bottom of the table and are the most conceding and least scoring side in the league with 8 goals scored and 31 conceded in just 15 games. An experienced veteran like Ralf Rangnick will look to make the best out of this situation but before that, he will have to get certain things straight within his team.

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Manchester United’s Team News:

The English right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka is likely to miss out due to an injury he received during their last UEFA Champions League clash with BSC Young Boys. Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba are still struggling to get back on their feet. Meanwhile, it’s too early for Raphael Varane and Edinson Cavani to be a part of the squad. So, United are likely to go into this match without five of their players.

Rangnick may stick with his playing eleven from the Crystal Palace game. So, the German is likely to trust his 4-3-3 formation which at times will turn into a 4-2-2-2 formation. David de Gea is bound to start as the goalkeeper. The Spanish keeper has been phenomenal till now, preventing four more shots than the league’s mean shot prevention. In the latest press conference, Rangnick has also mentioned that de Gea will stay as his first-choice keeper.

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Diogo Dalot will play as the right-back – his third consecutive start in the Premier League time since April 2019. He needs more game time to develop his game and certainly offers more output than Wan-Bissaka offensively. His defending sometimes remains under question but can be complemented by the center-back pairing of Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof. The combination worked out well against Palace in their home match and the fans will be hopeful of the same thing happening again tomorrow.

Rangnick may pick Alex Telles over Luke Shaw for this game. The Brazilian left-back has impressed a lot in his recent appearances and has an edge at the moment over Shaw for the left-back position. The double-pivot of Fred and Scott McTominay have worked out decently so far and they may be the way out for the upcoming game too.

Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes may start in front of the pivots and look to operate in the channels. They will be accompanied by Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford upfront.

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Predicted Playing Eleven of Manchester United:

David de Gea (Goalkeeper); Diogo Dalot (right-back), Victor Lindelof (centre-back), Harry Maguire (centre-back), Alex Telles (left-back); Fred (defensive midfielder), Scott McTominay (defensive midfielder); Bruno Fernandes (attacking midfielder), Jadon Sancho (right-winger); Cristiano Ronaldo (centre-forward), Marcus Rashford (left-winger).

At this stage of the season, these are the exact type of games United should look to benefit from to close down the gap with the top teams, whereas Dean Smith will look to utilize every ounce of his experience to secure his second win as the Norwich manager. An interesting watch, I must say!

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