Luke Shaw was given the unenviable task of dealing with Erling Haaland in the Manchester derby with the United defender keeping his spot at centre-back.
That was despite both Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez being available, with Erik ten Hag opting to bench the two centre-backs.
“Lisandro Martinez hasn’t played that many games in the last four weeks,” Ten Hag said on BT Sport. “He played 90 minutes for the first time at Charlton. It’s a really big game.”
Martinez was part of Argentina’s World Cup winning squad and is being eased back into Premier League action slowly, though Ten Hag did hint there could be a role for him later in the game.
“We need him today but we will see at what point,” he added. “Of course he can contribute to this back four and we can put him on. It’s always team first but there are players who are in particular responsible for that and that starts with the centre halves.”
Shaw has impressed under the Dutchman when called upon to change positions this season, while Fred has also been recalled to the starting XI. Bruno Fernandes starts out wide in place of Antony as Ten Hag admitted he was keen to take a more conservative approach in view of City’s attacking threat.
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Ten Hag did not discuss Maguire’s situation, but he has previously stated his preference for a left-footed player to feature at left centre-back.
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