Manchester United still need to do a professional job against Real Sociedad at Old Trafford but the job is almost done.
A 4-0 first leg lead should allow Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to rest any first teamers he feels need a night off.
That should allow the likes of Eric Bailly and Axel Tuanzebe a chance to continue their journeys back to full fitness and confidence.
Bailly recovered from a shaky start to shine in the first leg, and even rounded off his night by setting up a goal.
We know Solskjaer has to manage his return carefully given his injury record but Thursday’s game should provide the perfect chance for him to get 90 minutes under his belt.
As for Tuanzebe, Solskjaer has twice brought him into the side against theoretically weaker opponents – Istanbul Basaksehir and Sheffield United.
Both times he played alongside Harry Maguire and both times United lost the game.
Tuanzebe hasn’t started since that loss against the Blades and a substitute appearance in stoppage time against Everton ended with him conceding the free kick which led to Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s equaliser.
He could do with a full 90 minutes to get his belief back up and playing alongside a different partner than Maguire may also help too.
Bailly and Tuanzebe have started just twice together all season.
At Everton in the EFL Cup, Tuanzebe was at right-back, which means the only time they’ve been seen from the off as a central pairing was the 1-0 FA Cup win over Watford.
Even then, they only lasted 45 minutes together because Bailly was forced off with an injury.
It’s a shame the pair haven’t played together more often because they have the makings of a dynamic, pacey central defensive duo.
Thursday’s game should provide the perfect opportunity to see them together, in a relatively low pressure game.
They could both use the run-out and the boost of confidence a strong performance and a clean sheet would give them.
- Analysing how Marcus Rashford performed in England’s 6-4 win over France
- Lisandro Martinez has never taken penalty in his whole career, but this is what he could do in World Cup final
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos have once again been vindicated with major Man Utd call, despite Wrexham defeat
- 14 things I liked and disliked from Man Utd vs Wrexham pre-season opener
- Andrey Santos delivered exactly what Michael Carrick could have hoped for in Man Utd against Wrexham
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
