Erik ten Hag has named his starting line-up for Manchester United's crunch Europa League group stage finale with Real Sociedad at the Estadio Anoeta, making a handful of changes.
United, who lost the reverse meeting 1-0 at Old Trafford in September, will be looking to build on Sunday's hard-fought 1-0 win over West Ham United in the Premier League. Marcus Rashford scored the only goal of the game to stretch United's unbeaten run to eight games in all competitions.
It means that Ten Hag will be looking to see his side maintain their recent run of good form this evening, as they target a two-goal victory margin to win Group E and avoid an unwanted two-legged play-off fixture in February to try and reach the last 16. The Dutchman has opted to make a handful of changes to the side that was victorious on Sunday, making three changes in total.
READ MORE: Real Sociedad vs United LIVE
Victor Lindelof, Donny van de Beek and Alejandro Garnacho have come into the side, meaning Harry Maguire, Anthony Elanga and Marcus Rashford have dropped out. Van de Beek has been awarded his first start in United colours since last December.
Meanwhile, the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Scott McTominay and Fred have been named among the substitutes. However, Raphael Varane (injured), Jadon Sancho (ill), Anthony Martial (injured) and Antony (injured) remain sidelined.
Despite having made the decision to make three changes to the side that defeated West Ham, Ten Hag will be hoping for more of the same from his side as they aim to continue their recent run of good form and attempt to bag top spot in the group. It is the shock inclusion of Van de Beek 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 hand the former Ajax midfielder a first start of the season.
As you can see from the messages displayed in the tweets above, Ten Hag's decision to include his fellow countryman in the starting line-up has gone down a treat with the supporters. They have been desperate to catch a glimpse of the former Ajax man this season, now that he has been reunited with a boss he knows inside out.
United starting line-up: De Gea; Dalot, Lindelof, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen, Van de Beek; Fernandes, Ronaldo, Garnacho.
Substitutes: Dubravka, Vitek, Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Malacia, Fred, McTominay, Iqbal, Elanga, Pellistri, Shoretire, Rashford.
This evening's contest at the Estadio Anoeta kicks off at 5:45pm and you can follow all of the action on our live matchday blog, which you can access by clicking here.
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