Benjamin Sesko will feature in the Manchester United starting lineup for the first time this season when they host Sabah at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Manchester United will aim to return to winning ways and kick off the UEFA Champions League campaign on a strong note when they welcome Sabah to Old Trafford on Thursday night. Michael Carrick has no new injury concerns to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Tom Heaton (knock), Manuel Ugarte (knee), Carlos Baleba (ankle), and Amad Diallo (muscular) remain in the treatment room. Additionally, Luke Shaw and Matthijs de Ligt missed training on Wednesday, as it was their “designated rest day”, per Manchester United, with the duo unlikely to take on Sabah.
However, Marcus Rashford has resumed training after concerns about his fitness following his substitution against Everton this past weekend. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Carrick provided fitness updates on Shaw, de Ligt, and Rashford.
The Manchester United head coach said, “Yeah, we just gave him an extra recovery day today, Luke. So, obviously, we’ll see tomorrow how he is but it’s not an ongoing thing or planning like that. Off the back of the game the other day, as normal, each individual has different little things we manage and Luke was one of them today.”
“We have to see. It’s positive. He [de Ligt] has trained really well but we’re still managing it, when you’re out for such a long period of time, you get to the final stages, pushing and pushing, and you’ve got to manage that last stage. It’s important to get that balance right to take the next step. But he’s on a good track, in a good place and it’s great to have him back around us. Hopefully, some time soon.”
Carrick also discussed the possibility of Sesko being fit enough to start. The Manchester United boss said, “Ben is close, obviously. He’s obviously getting closer and closer. He missed a lot, since the Liverpool game [last season], it’s a long time to miss. We had to manage it and get him fit, he trained three-and-a-bit weeks fully, with no restrictions.”
“You can see that coming onto the pitch, getting stronger and it was a fantastic goal, he did that an awful lot for us last season. It’s good to see him get on crosses and he’ll be part of each and every game. It’s just a case of when we take the next step, he’s in a good place.”
Senne Lammens is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Manchester United lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Sabah on Thursday. The backline will feature Noussair Mazraoui, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, and Harry Amass. The latter will deputise for Shaw, who will get some rest on Thursday.
As for the midfield unit, Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo should continue to pair up in the double pivot, with Andrey Santos being a backup option on the bench. Bruno Fernandes will reprise the no. 10 role, with Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo being the two wide attackers. Finally, Benjamin Sesko will lead the line for the home side against Sabah. So, Marcus Rashford and Patrick Dorgu will likely make an appearance in the second half.
Predicted Manchester United XI: Lammens; Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Amass; Tielemans, Mainoo; Mbeumo, Bruno Fernandes, Cunha; Sesko
