Man Utd predicted XI vs Brentford: ‘Unreal’ Red face the drop amid injury fears | OneFootball

Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick is facing the usual dilemma up front, as he must decide which attacker will start on the bench against Brentford.

On Monday, the Red Devils can make another large stride towards the Champions League by beating the Bees. The contest will take place at Old Trafford, with the kick-off set at 20:00 UK time.

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Following their convincing performance in the win over Chelsea nine days ago, Carrick might be reluctant to make any changes to the lineup. And yet, at least one tweak is expected on Monday.

Man Utd’s expected XI against Brentford: Harry Maguire is back

Despite his solid display at the back, Noussair Mazraoui will make way for Harry Maguire, who returns after serving a two-match ban.

The England international remains high on the pecking order, while the Moroccan is originally a full-back who only filled in at the heart of the backline due to the emergency situation.

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Maguire is thus expected to connect with Ayden Heaven, who stole the limelight at Stamford Bridge a week ago. On the other hand, Lisandro Martinez remains suspended, Matthijs de Ligt has been out of action for over five months, and Leny Yoro could only be fit for a bench role.

Mazraoui’s exploits in West London could see him contend for a full-back role, but neither Diogo Dalot nor Luke Shaw did anything to hurt their chances, so they remain the favourites to maintain their starting roles.

In the middle of the park, Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo have become the automatic choices for the double pivot, especially with Manuel Ugarte failing to inspire. Bruno Fernandes will start ahead of them in the No.10 role.

Will Cunha be dropped from Man Utd starting lineup?

While the rest of the lineup almost picks itself, the attack remains Carrick’s main conundrum. While Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee have never truly been in the running for a starting berth, four players have been vying for three roles. These are Benjamin Sesko, Adam Diallo, Bryan Mbeumo, and Matheus Cunha.

As the match winner at the Bridge, the ‘unreal’ Brazilian, as Ben Foster describes him, should have secured his place in the lineup. However, reports on Sunday revealed that the former Wolves star had some scans earlier in the week, thus raising some concerns over his availability.

While Cunha isn’t expected to be ruled out completely, Carrick might decide to drop him from the starting lineup, at least as a precautionary measure.

In this case, Mbeumo would start on the left wing against his former employers, with Diallo on the opposite flank, and Benjamin Sesko leading the line.

Man Utd Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Heaven, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo; Amad, Fernandes, Mbeumo; Sesko.