Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskajer is certainly known for rotating his lineups this season, and his next squad rotation has seen midfielder Donny van de Beek back in the first team. The Dutchman, among United’s 10 most expensive transfers of all time, gets the first team nod at home against Liverpool in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
This would be his 14th start of the season, but it’s against 15 substitute appearances, and only two of his first team featurings have come in the Premier League. Here below is the rest of United’s starting XI and available subs.
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Ole makes 5?? changes to his #MUFC starting XI ?
? #FACup
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 24, 2021
Van de Beek is the major story here, as he didn’t make the move to Ajax this summer, only to play a limited role at United. He came for major minutes, in important matches, and there are plenty of transfer rumors linking him with a move away, yes, even for this window.
Well that seems a bit hasty, it’s also life in big money football. However, tonight brings him an opportunity, and maybe he’ll make the most of it in a rivalry grudgematch. And if so, maybe that would be the start of a major turnaround in his United career.
On the other side, here is the Liverpool XI and their bench for this one.
Here’s how we line up against @ManUtd ?#MUNLIV | #FACup
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 24, 2021
Love the military fatigues for a kit! That’s cool- the camo shirts! That means at least they’ll look bad ass today when they once again fail to score a goal.
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.