Jose Mourinho must be delighted with the way his Manchester United team has started the season. 3 wins in 3 matches, including the Community Shield match against Leicester City. After rolling over Bournemouth in the opening weekend game, United continued their winning streak by defeating Southampton 2-0 on the first Friday night game of the season. With the acquisition of Pogba, Ibrahimovic, Mkhitaryan and Bailly, United look lethal going forward and solid as a rock when defending. Zlatan couldn’t have imagined a better start to his United career. The Swede has scored 4 goals in his first 3 matches of the season.
Manchester United will now travel to the KCOM Stadium to face Hull City on Saturday. Hull were favourites to crumble this season but have begun brilliantly with two wins out of two. Pogba made his debut in the last match against Southampton, while Mkhitaryan started the match on the bench. The Portuguese manager might be tempted to shuffle his team around and bring in the Armenian into the starting XI. Here is the predicted Manchester United starting XI that might start on Saturday.
Goalkeeper: David De Gea
De Gea would be very pleased with how his side is performing defensively. He was hardly made to work against Southampton, something that rarely occurred under Louis Van Gall. He is a guaranteed starter between the sticks, if not injured or being rested.
Defenders: Antonio Valencia, Luke Shaw, Eric Bailly and Daley Blind.
The United back-line have been in superb form this season, their solidity at the back has hardly allowed the opposition to break through. Valencia has revived his career somewhat under Mourinho with a string of excellent performances, he will continue in his right-back spot. Luke Shaw seems to be getting better game by game, after recovering from a long-term injury sustained last year. He will slot in at left-back. The good performance of Daley Blind has managed to keep Smalling out of the team. The Dutchman will look to carry on from where he left off in the last match alongside Eric Bailly in the center of the defense line. The big Ivorian has been the standout performer till now.
Midfielders: Paul Pogba, Fellaini, Mkhitaryan, Rooney and Martial
Paul Pogba made an excellent second debut against Southampton. He started off slowly but soon showed everyone why United paid a fortune to get him back. He will continue in central midfield alongside the rejuvenated Fellaini. The Belgian international was a little less influential with Pogba alongside him but still managed to deliver a good performance. Rooney will continue in that number 10 role behind the striker, with Martial on the left-wing and Mkhitaryan on the right. The Armenian is yet to make a start for the Red Devils.
Striker: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
What a start Ibrahimovic has had to his United career. The former Swedish international has now scored 4 goals in 3 matches. His finishing has been top class, along with his understanding with Rooney.