Manchester United has yet to confirm Marcus Rashford’s fitness, but it appears unlikely that he will be risked in the club’s Europa League quarter final first leg against Sevilla.
Rashford hobbled off the pitch as Manchester United defeated Everton 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday. It appeared to be a groin injury, which typically takes at least 2-3 weeks to heal.
Anthony Martial played 30 minutes for the third time in three games on Sunday, so the obvious choice for manager Erik ten Hag would be for the Frenchman to lead the line in Rashford’s absence.
This would mean keeping Jadon Sancho on the left wing and Antony on the right, both of whom performed admirably against the Toffees.
Wout Weghorst is another option, but Alejandro Garnacho is still out due to injury.
United are at full strength in midfield, with the exception of long-term injury Donny van de Beek, with Casemiro returning from suspension and Christian Eriksen continuing his comeback from injury.
Despite being one yellow card away from suspension, Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes are expected to play.
Fernandes has been used in a deeper role in recent games, which he used effectively on Sunday. If Eriksen isn’t yet ready to play 90 minutes, as we suspect, the Portuguese could return, with Casemiro holding and Marcel Sabitzer in the number 10 spot.
Other options include Fred and Scott McTominay, but Ten Hag usually prefers one strong holding player and two creatives.
In defense, Luke Shaw may return after recovering from a minor injury, but Ten Hag may decide to keep Tyrell Malacia in for another game to give the England man time to rest and recover.
Raphael Varane is expected to replace Harry Maguire at right center back, while Lisandro Martinez remains at left center back.
The battle for the right back position continues, and it’s difficult to predict who will be selected. We chose Diogo Dalot because it is a home game, and Ten Hag has stated on numerous occasions that he believes the Portuguese is a better attacker than Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
With David de Gea in goal, here’s our predicted lineup for Thursday’s 8 p.m. kickoff:
