Michael Carrick for Ander Herrera
Many have been calling for Michael Carrick’s inclusion into the Manchester United line-up. Their wish came true in the Europa League tie against Fenerbahce, as the former England international played and did superbly as his team ran out 4-1 winners. His inclusion seemed to have given Pogba the freedom to move around and influence the game more. Mourinho opted against started him in the game against Chelsea and instead gave Fellaini and Herrera starting roles. This backfired as Chelsea’s midfield of 2 dominated United’s midfielders on the day.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan for Marouane Fellaini
The Belgian was outrun in midfield against Chelsea and he has looked leggy in many games. There are now doubts over his status as a Manchester United player and if he has the pedigree to be wearing such a prestigious shirt. He is undoubtedly a handful on his day but mediocre performances such as his are simply unacceptable. Mkhitaryan has hardly had a look in since moving in from Borrusia Dortmund for a hefty fee of 26 million pounds. His solitary start in the Premier League came in the Manchester Derby but he was substituted at half-time. So there are doubts over whether Mourinho has got his man in Mkhitaryan. He needs to show more faith in the Armenian and give him the confidence to go express himself on the pitch.
Anthony Martial for Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan started the season off spectacularly with a couple of goals as he got used to life in the Premier League. But as time has gone by, the goals have dried up and he is getting more and more isolated up front. Uncertainty over Rooney’s future has left a cloud over the striker position at Manchester United. Mourinho should look to give the Swede a breather. He could do with some time off to recoup in order to regain some of the form that makes him one of the most feared strikers ever and Anthony Martial must be given a chance to sizzle meanwhile. Doing so will also add a lot of pace and running to the front line, which was clearly lacking from Ibrahimovic.
Predicted line up; De Gea, Matteo Darmian, Chris Smalling, Daley Blind , Luke Shaw, Paul Pogba, Michael Carrick, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Jessie Lingard, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial
Kick off – 7 pm BST, 26th October