Predicted Manchester United line-up v Atletico Madrid

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Manchester United’s biggest game of the season will be held tonight as Old Trafford hosts a first knockout Champions League clash since 2019.

This is also the first ‘second leg’ of a Champions League knockout tie held in Manchester since 2018, and United hope to fare better than on that miserable night under Jose Mourinho against Sevilla.

Tonight’s opponents Atletico Madrid are an awkward side to face, who gave United a really tough game in Spain.

United got a bit lucky in Spain, claiming a 1-1 draw with Atletico hitting the woodwork twice. There is no away goals rule after UEFA abolished it, so any draw tonight will see the game go to extra time.

Selection decisions

United prepared for this fixture in a positive way, with a 3-2 win over Tottenham at Old Trafford which will tune up the Old Trafford crowd in anticipation of a good result tonight.

United hope to have every player available, with Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw returning to training on Monday.

Manager Ralf Rangnick told the club website he did not plan to make major changes: “It’s possible we have some new players in the starting XI, but there is not that much reason to change too many positions. We will see. To start with, it’s good to have everybody available, that’s better than missing out five or six players.”

With this in mind, we are expecting two changes for the fixture, with Bruno Fernandes returning to the starting line-up.

Fernandes will most likely take Paul Pogba’s place, with the Frenchman failing to seize his chance to shine in the attacking midfield role against Tottenham.

The other change will come in attack, with youngster and scorer in the first leg Anthony Elanga racing in to take Marcus Rashford’s spot, with the Englishman also failing to impact the game positively at the weekend.

This means with David de Gea in goal, United will stick with the same back four which faced Spurs; Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane, and Alex Telles.

Luke Shaw is still not quite at 100 per cent and will have to settle for a place on the bench. There is a case for Victor Lindelof to replace Harry Maguire too, but ultimately we would expect Rangnick to stick by the club captain, for better or worse.

United’s midfield is interesting, because we are anticipating Nemanja Matic retaining his place alongside Fred.

Matic played well when he came on against Atletico in Spain, and subsequently against Watford and Tottenham. The Serbian gives United better shape and physicality, and his experience could be crucial for this fixture.

With Bruno Fernandes in too, Cristiano Ronaldo will lead the line supported by Elanga and an in-form Jadon Sancho as part of a front three.

United should have game changers on the bench, with Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford all able to come on and influence the match positively from an attacking standpoint, and Scott McTominay to provide fresh legs in midfield later on.