When Manchester United hosts Barnsley FC on Tuesday night, in red hot EFL Cup action, you can expect nearly all the regulars to take a rest. Also, any player who is 50/50, touch-and-go, fitness wise, will miss out as well. Thus, Rasmus Hojlund, Luke Shaw, Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof, Mason Mount, Tyrell Malacia and Leny Yoro are all expected to be absent from this midweek club clash.
As Barnsley are a League One (third tier of the FA pyramid) side, there would be no reason to play most of those guys anyway, even if they were fully fit.
League Cup Third Round FYIs
Kickoff: Tues Sept. 17, 2024, 8pm BST
United Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Series History: Man Utd wins 22, Draws 11, Barnsley wins 5
Odds: Man Utd to win: 1/4, Barnsley to win: 19/2
Man United Team News
Martinez and De Ligt are new fitness concerns, and it is possible that Maguire may be joining the duo in this category. We don’t really know about Slab Head right now, we’ll have to get back to you on that. On De Ligt, manager Erik ten Hag said to the BBC: “I’m not surprised. At this moment he is not fit, he’s not at 100% speed. He needs the games to go up to it.”
Regarding Lucha, the Dutchman said:
“We had internationals early in the season, some are short in the pre-season, some come from intercontinental flights then when you have a 12:30 kick-off, you can struggle. Hopefully it’s nothing serious and we have to assess today and tomorrow.”
And Shaw is apparently STILL not fit, while Hojlund is about a week or two away.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.