Predicted Man United XI vs Chelsea: Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho to be rested – Man United News And Transfer News

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Erik ten Hag will once again be without Lisandro Martinez for tomorrow’s trip to West London to face Chelsea.

Martinez’ long nightmare with injury continues as he will now be out for a month or so with a muscle injury after his return from another injury lasted just one substitute appearance against Brentford.

The two starting centre backs in that game, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof, both went off injured and whilst Varane has a chance of making tomorrow’s game, the Swede, too, is sidelined for around a month with a hamstring problem.

Jonny Evans is also unlikely to return in time and Luke Shaw, who has been used at centre back by Ten Hag, continues on the sidelines as part of the curse that could leave just Harry Maguire and the inexperienced Willy Kambwala as the only fit centre backs on the roster.

It is a farcical situation but for the purposes of our predicted XI we’re going to be positive and declare Varane fit to play.

Elsewhere it is to be hoped there are no new injuries. This should allow Andre Onana to continue in goal and Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka to offer some stability in the full-back roles.

In midfield, it seems likely Casemiro will be brought back in alongside Kobbie Mainoo with Scott McTominay returning to the bench. The Mainoo-McTominay partnership was very poor against the Bees and will surely be changed.

There is, remarkably, a full selection of midfielders to choose from, with Sofyan Amrabat, Christian Eriksen and Mason Mount other alternatives.

Ten Hag would certainly be forgiven for ringing the changes on the wings after the Brentford debacle. Marcus Rashford came in for a lot of criticism from the media and social media after the game and Ten Hag hauled off Garnacho midway through the second half.

There are other options – Mount, again, who scored from the left wing position, and Amad Diallo, who will be returning from his one match suspension a hero after his winner against Liverpool in the Cup. Antony, who also scored against the Merseysiders, is also showing belated signs of finding form.

We would not be surprised if Ten Hag doggedly sticks with Rashford but with Garnacho also looking a little jaded and there being another big game on Sunday against Liverpool, the chances are he could ring the changes.

Bringing Mount in on the left wing would allow him to tuck in out of possession and provide a little more support for the midfield as well. And although fans would love to see Amad getting a start on the right, Antony seems the more likely option.

Bruno Fernandes is almost certain to continue in the number 10 position and in Anthony Martial’s continued absence, Rasmus Hojlund is a dead cert to start up front.

Ten Hag may provide some clarity at his pre-match press conference this lunchtime, which will be reported here at around 12.30pm. In the meantime, here is our predicted XI for tomorrow’s game:

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