Manchester United will be looking to make a winning start to the restart when they face Championship table-toppers Burnley in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening.
United, who beat Aston Villa 4-2 in the last round, will be going in search of a third successive win in all competitions following their dramatic 2-1 win over Fulham prior to the World Cup. Alejandro Garnacho netted a last-gasp winner to ensure the Reds signed off in style, meaning they will be looking to pick up where they left off.
The Reds, who last faced Burnley in this competition back in 2002, know that a win will move them to within three games of the final at Wembley at the end of February. Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have already been knocked out of the competition and one of Liverpool and Manchester City will also bow out at this stage, meaning United could be in with a strong chance of ending their trophy drought in a little over two months time.
READ MORE: Five World Cup stars United are tracking ahead of possible transfers
The majority of United's players who went to the World Cup only returned to the club's Carrington training base on Tuesday, meaning manager Erik ten Hag is likely to pick most of his starting line-up from the pool of players that recently travelled to Spain for a warm-weather training camp.
Although on-loan goalkeeper Martin Dubravka started the win over Villa in the last round, first choice shot-stopper David de Gea is likely to start in goal. He was not included in Spain's World Cup squad, meaning he went on United's training camp and featured in one of the two friendlies they played in Spain. He will be in need of competitive minutes ahead of the Premier League campaign resuming next week.
Ahead of him, you are guaranteed to see a much-changed back-four. Aaron Wan-Bissaka could bag his first competitive start under Ten Hag at right-back and Brandon Williams the same at left-back. They started the friendly defeats to Cadiz CF and Real Betis.
In the heart of the defence, Victor Lindelof is almost certain to start and could be joined by captain Harry Maguire. The skipper enjoyed a stellar World Cup campaign with England and could be called upon because of Teden Mengi's injury and Axel Tuanzebe not yet being fully fit. Lisandro Martinez, of course, is unavailable.
In midfield, Scott McTominay, who started both friendlies in Spain, is likely to start as the most defensive-minded operator and could be flanked by Christian Eriksen. The former Brentford man is in contention to be in the mix for a start after Denmark crashed out of the World Cup in the group stages. He has not played since November 30.
Zidane Iqbal could be handed his full debut in the No.10 position, filling in for Bruno Fernandes. Donny van de Beek has started three of the last four games in that position but has failed to leave his calling card.
In attack, Ten Hag is almost certain to go with the same front-three that started the two friendlies in Spain, meaning, from right to left, Anthony Elanga, Anthony Martial and Garnacho are expected to lead the line. The likes of Marcus Rashford and Antony may not be risked, while Facundo Pellistri is likely to be named on the bench.
Predicted line-up vs Burnley: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Williams; McTominay, Eriksen, Iqbal; Elanga, Martial, Garnacho.
Who would you pick? Have a go at our selector tool below and see the XI that fellow fans choose:
READ NEXT:
