Manchester United will be looking to book their place in the last 16 of the Europa League when they face Barcelona in the second leg of their knockout round tie at Old Trafford on Thursday evening.
United, who have not beaten the Spanish giants since April 2008, will fancy their chances of progressing to the next stage of the competition after last week's first leg at Camp Nou finished 2-2. The Reds produced an excellent performance in Spain and were disappointed not to have secured an advantage ahead of the second leg.
United, however, did not let any disappointments get in the way of Sunday's Premier League meeting with Leicester City, as they recorded a professional 3-0 win. It means they will be looking to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to nine matches against the La Liga table-toppers.
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Manager Erik ten Hag made the decision to make a collection of changes against Leicester at the weekend, particularly to his back-four, meaning he is likely to revert back to a more familiar-looking line-up against Barcelona. David de Gea was key between the posts against the Foxes and is primed to start in goal once again, as he goes in search of a fifth clean sheet in the Europa League this season.
Ahead of De Gea, changes are guaranteed to the back-four. Raphael Varane is expected to return to the starting line-up and partner Lisandro Martinez, who missed last week's trip to Camp Nou through suspension.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka could reclaim the right-back berth from Diogo Dalot after starting the first leg last Thursday and Luke Shaw is expected to continue at left-back, meaning Tyrell Malacia will have to settle for a place on the bench for the second game running. Malacia started at left-back against Barcelona last week as Shaw started at centre-back in place of Martinez.
United will, of course, be boosted by the return of Casemiro in midfield. He sat out the final match of his three-game domestic ban at the weekend, meaning he is free to start in midfield, just as he did in Spain last week.
However, Ten Hag faces a huge decision on who joins him in the engine room, with both Marcel Sabitzer and Fred available for selection. Sabitzer started the win over Leicester and produced a classy performance, meaning he might get the nod from his manager.
Wout Weghorst started in an unexpected No.10 role against Barcelona last week and disrupted the Spanish outfit's play, meaning Ten Hag could deploy him in the most advanced midfield berth once again, allowing Bruno Fernandes to continue on the right wing. Fernandes has started the last two games in that position and caught the eye in both.
That means he will start on the right of the front-three, leaving Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho to complete the XI. Sancho stepped off the bench at half-time against Leicester, replacing Alejandro Garnacho, and made a terrific impact, as well as scoring his fifth goal of the campaign.
Antony is available for selection after recovering from a leg injury, but might not be risked from the start. Anthony Martial, however, remains sidelined.
United predicted line-up vs Barcelona: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Sabitzer, Weghorst; Fernandes, Rashford, Sancho.
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