Marcus Rashford has played in every single one of Manchester United’s 43 matches this season despite his being troubled, for the past four months, by a shoulder injury that somewhat inhibited his movement. Rashford hurt his ankle on Sunday, during a clash with Riyad Mahrez in the Manchester Derby win.
He’s almost certain to miss United’s next match, a Europa League round of 16 clash, leg 1/2, at Old Trafford against AC Milan. He’s far from the only key player who will/could miss out here, so expect to see some bench guys make a start in this one.
AC Milan at Manchester United FYIs
Kickoff: 5:55 GMT, Thurs. Mar 11, Old Trafford
Team news for both sides: go here
Referee: Slavko Vincic (SVN)
VAR: Bastian Dankert (GER)
Of course, even if United had a fully fit squad, you’d still see a lot of sqaud rotation here, because that’s what UEL is for. Here’s the first team prediction that we’re going with. Expect a few changs from Sunday, as we’ll see some new guys come into the team in all three position groups.
Manchester United Starting XI Prediction vs AC Milan (4-2-3-1): Dean Henderson; Axel Tuanzebe, Eric Bailly, Harry Maguire, Alex Telles; Fred, Nemanja Matic; Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood, Dan James; Anthony Martial
Prediction United 2, AC Milan 0
Zlatan or no Zlatan, Rashford or no Rashford, I think United win this one comfortably.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.