Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire will all thrive in the second half of the season, according to former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre.
United enjoyed a successful return to action last week after well over a month without playing due to the World Cup break as they eased past a spirited Burnley to advance to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. Now Erik ten Hag's side are gearing themselves up for their first Premier League encounter since Alejandro Garnacho's last-gasp winner against Fulham on November 13.
United will welcome Nottingham Forest to Old Trafford on Wednesday for their first meeting since they smashed them 8-1 back in 1999. Rashford and Shaw will likely start and captain Maguire could too if he recovers from illness. Silvestre thinks they will improve following the resumption.
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“The English players like Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire will come back with a positive mindset," the Frenchman told bettingexpert. "They’ll have a better second half of the season.”
“I hope Anthony Martial will be fit and score goals. He needs to play regularly for the team and bring his qualities to the team."
Silvestre also reckons United are heading in the right direction under Ten Hag but will need to become more consistent to rival the likes of Liverpool and neighbours Manchester City. That starts on Wednesday but the former centre-back has also warned that Forest won't be easy.
“I think the team is on the right path," he added. “Again, the consistency that Man City and Arsenal are showing, and Liverpool in previous seasons, that’s what Man Utd need to aim for.
"Excellence in every game. You cannot have a good game and then a bad game and a good game again. That’s what needs to be done. They can hope, in the mid-term, that the team can go back to a fighting position for the title.
“There’s no easy games for Manchester United. Old Trafford needs to become a fortress again. Teams should come to Old Trafford with little hope but now it’s almost a 50/50 game. It’s important to respect the opponents by being aggressive and try to win the game.”
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