Are Manchester United on the come-up again?
Unbeaten in 2024 with Sir Jim Ratcliffe already making moves off the pitch, a sense of optimism may well be returning to the Theatre of Dreams.
The Red Devils will be looking to extend their purple patch on Sunday when they travel to Kenilworth Road to face a plucky Luton Town side. The Hatters have punched above their weight this season and are more than capable of toppling a confident but beatable United team.
Here’s how Ten Hag could set his side up on Sunday.
GK: Andre Onana – Onana discourse has quietened of late after the Cameroonian was fiercely criticised at the very start of his United career.
RB: Diogo Dalot – Dalot’s fierce delivery gave Scott McTominay no choice but to head home the winner at Villa Park last weekend. The full-back’s been one of United’s standout players in 2024.
CB: Raphael Varane – Victor Lindelof may have scored the winner in the reverse fixture, but there’s no way he comes back into the team on Sunday ahead of Varane.
CB: Harry Maguire – After earning MOTM honours last weekend, Maguire will deputise for the injured Lisandro Martinez at Kenilworth Road.
LB: Luke Shaw – Shaw’s half-time withdrawal last Sunday was merely a pre-caution and he should remain in the XI given Ten Hag’s limited options.
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CM: Casemiro – The Brazilian should keep his place and hopefully we enjoy another sequence of utter bemusement if he picks up a yellow card.
CM: Kobbie Mainoo – The teenage sensation has quickly garnered England cries after seamlessly slotting into Ten Hag’s midfield.
RM: Alejandro Garnacho – The Argentine has a new home down the right flank, it appears. Luton won’t offer the sort of space Villa gifted him in behind.
AM: Bruno Fernandes – United’s creator-in-chief has been a constant this season and that won’t change this weekend. Fernandes will be key to breaking Luton’s resistance.
LM: Marcus Rashford – The England international is seemingly back in the manager’s good books having started United’s previous three games. Has started all four Premier League outings in 2024.
ST: Rasmus Hojlund – The man who can do no wrong at the moment. After a goal-shy start to his United career, Hojlund has scored in each of his last five appearances.
