Predicted Manchester United line-up v Leeds

Manchester United face Leeds in the club’s Premier League opener on Saturday at 12.30pm.

United have had a mixed pre-season, with two wins, one draw, and one defeat.

The challenge has not so much been the results, but managing to get all of the players back. United do have everybody back now, but many first team players have had less than two weeks training and just minutes of pre-season friendly action.

This makes picking a side to face Leeds to be a tricky task. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has some dilemmas, particularly in forward areas.

Queens Park Rangers v Manchester United - Pre-season Friendly — Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images

At the start of the summer, United’s defence lacked numbers. This has now been resolved with players returning.

The problems lie in attack, with Marcus Rashford out, and Edinson Cavani not yet fit to feature.

Anthony Elanga missed the Everton game with injury, while Jesse Lingard is out with Covid.

Let’s break down who is likely to start and the key decisions facing Solskjaer.

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Back five picks itself

Goalkeeper is no longer a contentious decision because Dean Henderson has been out with illness. David de Gea will start this fixture.

Raphael Varane has not yet trained for United, and so Victor Lindelof will partner Harry Maguire, with Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka at full-backs.

United do lack back-up centre-back options with Varane unavailable, Axel Tuanzebe loaned out, and Eric Bailly not yet back in training after the Olympics.

Midfield decisions

Manchester United began with a midfield three of Donny van de Beek, Nemanja Matic and Bruno Fernandes against Everton.

These three are most likely to feature against Leeds from the start, which would make sense as Matic and Van de Beek have had a little more time in pre-season and played well last week.

Fred, Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba will all be options from the bench. Each of them are a little behind in their pre-season work, with Solskjaer admitting last week McTominay was carrying an injury.

Front three

This is where it gets tricky for United, with only Mason Greenwood a guaranteed starter. And even then, there is question as to whether he will start up front or on the right.

Greenwood’s fitness is good as he has started all four pre-season games. For that reason expect him to start on the right, to contribute with the defensive work prompted from Leeds’ full-backs.

Manchester United v Everton - Pre-season Friendly — Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images

On the left United could go with Paul Pogba, but Dan James is more likely. Anthony Elanga would have been an option had he been fit.

James’ fitness and defensive duty makes him a safer option on the left than Pogba, who has just one pre-season appearance while James has three.

Anthony Martial is not at peak fitness levels himself, but United have to make a concession somewhere. He will likely play for 60 minutes as a central striker, with James and Greenwood on either side.

Jadon Sancho is most likely to be on the bench, and he could replace Martial for the last 30 minutes, with Greenwood going centrally.

Manchester United’s first six fixtures of 2021/22

Leeds (H)
August 14 – 12.30pm
Southampton (A)
August 22 – 2pm
Wolves (A)
August 29 – 4.30pm
Newcastle (H)
September 11 – 3pm
West Ham (A)
September 18 – 2pm
Aston Villa (H)
September 25 – 3pm

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Predicted Manchester United line-up v Leeds

Back five picks itself

Midfield decisions

Front three