Predicted Manchester United line-up (4-4-2) vs Chelsea: Hojlund replaces Zirkzee

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Stretty News

·2 novembre 2024

Predicted Manchester United line-up (4-4-2) vs Chelsea: Hojlund replaces Zirkzee

Now that Manchester United have appointed a new head coach, it’s time to focus our minds on winning football matches as Chelsea visit Old Trafford on Sunday. Stretty News predicts Ruud van Nistelrooy’s line-up for his second game as interim manager.

The Reds return to Premier League action this weekend after beating Leicester City 5-2 in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night. It was a win to spark a new era at Old Trafford as Van Nistelrooy took charge in a caretaker capacity, with Ruben Amorim set to start work as the new head coach on November 11.

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A poor start to the season eventually led to Erik ten Hag being sacked. The 54-year-old wrote a heartfelt farewell message to United fans on Friday and wished us success in the future.

It’s now up to Van Nistelrooy – for now – and Amorim to turn things around. The only way to achieve that is by winning football matches and we know there’s plenty of room for improvement as United sit 14th in the Premier League table.

Chelsea are positioned fifth in the standings with 17 points, so we have some way to go before we can contemplate leap-frogging the London side.

Predicted Manchester United starting XI – 4-4-2

Andre Onana is fully expected to return to the line-up after Altay Bayindir’s poor display in the Carabao Cup. The Cameroon international has the most clean sheets in the league. He has arguably been our best player so far this season.

The defence is still a work in progress at United but we expect Noussair Mazraroui to return to right-back on Sunday, with Diogo Dalot switching back to his less preferred left-back role. Van Nistelrooy will likely partner Lisandro Martinez with Matthijs de Light at centre-back.

There is no need to change anything about the midfield because there was a vast improvement on Wednesday night. Manuel Ugarte was terrific and Casemiro put in a man of the match display, while Bruno Fernandes got his name on the scoresheet (twice) for the first time this term.

Rasmus Hojlund will replace Joshua Zirkze in the line-up, with Fernandes slotting into a slightly deeper role so he can pull the strings in the final third. Meanwhile, Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford will provide a constant threat on the wings.

Onana;

Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Dalot;

Rashford, Casemiro, Ugarte, Garnacho;

Fernandes, Hojlund

Formation

Van Nistelrooy asked his players to attack in a 4-4-2 formation on Wednesday night and we think he is likely to do the same against Chelsea. United had more purpose in attack and the five goals prove that, albeit against a weakened Leicester City side, who will be better when we play them in the league next week.