Expect to see some changes in the Manchester United first team tomorrow night as the Red Devils commence play in the UEFA Champions League group stage. Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof have already been slated to start against FC Basel, as they will replace Eric Bailly and Phil Jones who will be serving their UEFA suspensions.
This is an absolutely huge contest for Lindelof, the first signing of the summer transfer window, as he’s been left out of the last three squads. The pressure is on for the central defender to prove himself.
Daley Blind, Anthony Martial and Juan Mata were all rested in the trip to Stoke City, which ended in a 2-2 draw with the Potters. It’s fair to assume that the trio will all feature in this clash, and potentially start.
Without further ado, here is The Sports Bank’s Man United starting XI prediction (4-2-3-1)
Romelu Lukau
Anthony Martial Henrikh Mkhitaryan Juan Mata
Paul Pogba Nemanja Matic
Daley Blind Chris Smalling Victor Lindelof Antonio Valencia
David de Gea
Odds: (via Odds Checker) United- 1/5, Draw- 7/1, FC Basel 20/1
Kickoff: 17:30 BST
Injury Report, match preview, team news: go to this link
Prediction: Manchester United 2, FC Basel 1
As always, feel free to post your own Man United starting XI prediction in the comments section, and to opine on any other formations that you’ve seen online.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud, LinkedIn and YouTube.