Another day, another must-win game for Manchester United.
The Reds still have their Europa League fate in their own hands – just. We’re three points and two goals behind Real Sociedad but are yet to play them in Spain.
Put simply – we need to beat Omonoia and beat them well.
On paper this is probably United’s easiest game of the season. But when you consider how hard we had to work in the corresponding fixture less than a week ago to beat the Cypriots; it’s easy to be nervous about this game.
THE OUTLOOK – OPTIMISTIC
In reality, United dominated Omonoia in Cyprus, and could (and probably should) have won by a much wider margin. The same could be said about the Everton game on Sunday too.
It’s a game in which United will be expected to deliver both a result and a performance. Erik ten Hag will be keen for positive play, forward passing at tempo, goals and a clean sheet. United have ‘done things the hard way’ several times already this season. Wouldn’t it be nice to see the Reds just go out there and win 4-0 this time, like they’re supposed to?
United will go into the game with confidence, having taken all three points in a tricky away tie at Everton just this Sunday. The 1-2 scoreline flattered the Toffees, and United will know that a similar performance should prove too much for Omonoia.
MANCHESTER UNITED
United’s somewhat settled starting 11 of a few weeks ago has been given a shake-up. Luke Shaw, Victor Lindeloff, Casemiro, Ronaldo – all have come into the team recently for different reasons.
This is a game in which United will probably dominate possession high up the pitch, and we expect Ten Hag to rest a few players given the fixture congestion in October.
With that in mind, our predicted starting 11 is as follows:
Predicted starting XI:
De Gea; Dalot, Lindelof, Martinez, Malacia; Fernandes, McTominay, Fred; Antony, Ronaldo, Sancho
We’d expect Elanga to be given some game-time, and potentially the out-of-favour Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Don’t be surprised to see a cameo from some of our promising youngsters if things are going well towards the end of the game too. We’d love to see the likes of Zidane Iqbal or Garnacho get minutes in the first team.
Omonoia
With all respect to Omonoia, who will almost certainly play their strongest starting 11, this United team should be able to easily overwhelm them. They have some decent players and will be well-organised under Neil Lennon, but United have more than enough to break them down, win big and put a dent in Real Sociedad’s goal difference at the top of our group.
Predicted XI:
Ribeiro de Freitas; Matthews, Miletic, Yuste, Lang, Lecjaks; Diskerud, Charalampous, Barker; Souza da Silva, Ansarifard
A CHANCE TO IMPRESS
There was a lot of change at Manchester United over the summer. Martinez, Malacia, Eriksen, Antony and Casemiro have all been in or around the starting 11 this season, and some of United’s first-team regulars of last season have found themselves struggling for game time.
This game could represent a great chance for the likes of Fred, Lindeloff, McTominay, Elanga and even Aaron Wan-Bissaka to impress Erik ten Hag, and Malacia, Sancho and Ronaldo to stake their claims as regular starters.
PREDICTION
As mentioned earlier, really anything other than a convincing win would be disappointing, and we expect United to come through this game with ease.
We’re predicting 4-0, with both Ronaldo and Rashford getting on the scoresheet. Fingers crossed for an injury-free evening that builds confidence for another big league game at the weekend.