Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will give Manchester United captain Harry Maguire every chance to prove his fitness for the Europa League final against Villarreal.
Maguire sat out United’s final four Premier League fixtures of the season after suffering an ankle injury during the 3-1 victory over Aston Villa earlier this month.
United conceded at least once in each of the four matches that Maguire missed and looked particularly vulnerable at the back during a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool at Old Trafford.
Speaking before United’s 2-1 win over Wolves on the final day of the league campaign, Solskjaer acknowledged that Maguire is a doubt for the final, saying: “We still hope for Harry, we’re going to give him as much time as possible but the hope is getting slimmer.”
Although the England international has been included in United’s 26-man squad for the final, Anthony Martial has not as he has been unable to recover from a knee injury sustained at the end of March.
With second place already secured in the Premier League table, Solskjaer had the luxury of resting his key players at Molineux, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood left on the bench throughout and Bruno Fernandes, Luke Shaw and Edinson Cavani omitted from the squad entirely.
Solskjaer has a few selection dilemmas to contend with ahead of his first final as manager, notably in central defence should Maguire be unable to make it and in the wide attacking positions where Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood are competing for two slots.
David De Gea and Dean Henderson have alternated the gloves in recent weeks but the Spain international is expected to be selected for the final after starting in United’s last four matches in the Europa League. De Gea also replaced Henderson for the penultimate game of the Premier League campaign against Fulham after his rival struggled against Liverpool.
Wan-Bissaka and Shaw have both enjoyed stellar campaigns and will start in the full-back positions, while Victor Lindelof is also assured of his place. Assuming Maguire is unable to feature, one of Eric Bailly or Axel Tuanzebe will feature. Tuanzebe has looked the more assured of the two in Maguire’s absence and could get the nod.
Scott McTominay and Fred have been Solskjaer’s go-to midfield pairing during the second half of the campaign and are likely to retain their positions in front of the back four. That will not be to the detriment of Pogba, though, as the Frenchman has been deployed in a more advanced role off the left wing in recent weeks.
Although Pogba has offered limited attacking threat from that position, particularly in comparison to Rashford who has played there for the majority of the season, his tendency to drift infield gives the side an extra body in midfield and creates space for Shaw to overlap into which is key to United’s attacking strategy.
Manchester United’s Europa League final squad – in full
- Goalkeepers: David De Gea, Dean Henderson, Lee Grant, Nathan Bishop
- Defenders: Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Alex Telles, Axel Tuanzebe, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Brandon Williams
- Midfielders: Amad Diallo, Bruno Fernandes, Fred, Daniel James, Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, Scott McTominay, Paul Pogba, Donny van de Beek
- Forwards: Edinson Cavani, Anthony Elanga, Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford, Shola Shoretire
Fernandes will be fully refreshed after being given a rare rest at the weekend. The 26-year-old has been sensational this term, scoring 28 goals and registering 18 assists in 57 appearances and will be key to United’s hopes of winning their first piece of silverware in four years. The in-form Cavani is expected to lead the line after scoring nine goals in his previous 10 games.
Arguably the biggest conundrum facing Solskjaer is who to pick out of Rashford and Greenwood on the right wing. Of the two, Greenwood is far more effective playing on that side, scoring five times and providing two assists in his last six league appearances from that position. However, it would be a huge call to drop Rashford, who is United’s second-leading scorer this season with 21 goals.
Rashford may just edge Greenwood out of the starting line-up, but the youngster is sure to have a part to play from the bench at some point in proceedings.
Man Utd’s predicted 4-2-3-1 line-up vs Villarreal:
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