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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
George Smith

Manchester United fans react to starting line-up vs Newcastle as Marcus Rashford benched

Erik ten Hag has named his starting line-up for Manchester United's Premier League showdown with Newcastle United at Old Trafford this afternoon, making a handful of alternations.

United, who ran out 4-1 winners when the two sides last met in M16, will be going in search of a fourth successive victory in all competitions, following Thursday night's last-gasp Europa League win over Omonia Nicosia. Scott McTominay, who is suspended for this afternoon's game, stepped off the bench to net a dramatic winner in stoppage time.

It means that Ten Hag will be keen to see United maintain their recent run of good form and record a third successive home win in the Premier League for the first time since last December. The Dutchman, as expected, has made minor adjustments to his team this afternoon, making three changes.

READ MORE: Manchester United vs Newcastle LIVE

Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw and Jadon Sancho have come into the side, meaning Victor Lindelof, Tyrell Malacia and Marcus Rashford have dropped out. Christian Eriksen, who stepped off the bench against Omonia, has not been included in the matchday squad because of illness.

Meanwhile, Facundo Pellistri, Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho have been named among the substitutes. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire, Donny van de Beek and Anthony Martial miss out through injury once again.

Having made three changes to his side, Ten Hag will be hoping it has the desired impact as United go in search of a second successive league win. It is Rashford's omission from the starting line-up that has attracted the most attention from United's supporters in the immediate aftermath of the team news being confirmed.

Below, MEN Sport has taken a close look at what some of United's supporters have had to say in response to Ten Hag's decision to name the England international on the bench.

As you can see from the messages displayed in the tweets above, Ten Hag's decision to bench Rashford has received a mixed response, with some fans believing he could benefit from a slight rest in the midst of a congested fixture list, whereas others wanted him to try and continue his recent run of encouraging form. However, Ten Hag has confirmed in his pre-match TV interview that the striker is not fully fit and is "under the weather".

United starting line-up: De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Fred, Fernandes; Antony, Ronaldo, Sancho.

Substitutes: Heaton, Lindelof, Malacia, Mainoo, Iqbal, Pellistri, Elanga, Ganracho, Rashford.

The contest at Old Trafford gets underway at 2:00pm and you can follow all of the action on our live matchday blog, which you can access by clicking here.

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