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Man United have won one game today – the WSL match at Spurs. More here from Rob Smyth.
Erik ten Hag has been talking about his selection. Partly rotation, yes – the next game is at Camp Nou – but he also feels Maguire and Shaw will bring leadership. A year ago, the two of them combined for Man United’s first goal in a 4-2 win at Elland Road. Jadon Sancho had a good game too, though it was so long ago that several forgotten figures took part. Pogba, Lingard, Ronaldo, Raphinha …
Leeds, paradoxically, have the more settled side today. Their caretaker manager, Michael Skubala, has made only two changes and both are enforced. Pascal Struijk and Luis Sinisterra, both injured at Old Trafford, are replaced (as they were then) by Junior Firpo and Crysencio Summerville.
The teams: Man U
Ten Hag keeps the faith with Fred and Sabitzer. Harry Maguire returns, with Martinez and Varane both on the bench. Jadon Sancho starts for the first time since his spell in the Netherlands, presumably on the right after the decision to stick Rashford there backfired on Wednesday.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1) De Gea; Dalot, Maguire (capt), Shaw, Malacia; Sabitzer, Fred; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Weghorst.
Subs: Heaton, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Varane, Martinez, Iqbal, Pellistri, Elanga, Garnacho.
The teams: Leeds
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the grudge match of the day. You wait 11 months for a Man U-Leeds meeting, then two come along in a week.
On Wednesday at Old Trafford Leeds bossed the first few minutes of each half and stormed into a 2-0 lead, but were pegged back when Jadon Sancho came on and Marcus Rashford moved into the middle. The atmosphere was predictably poisonous, with the Leeds fans telling Rashford and Sancho “you let your country down”, only to find each of them answering back with a goal.
For Leeds, with no manager and no league wins since the World Cup, the draw was a minor triumph. For Manchester United it was a setback, though it showed spirit. They sorely missed Casemiro’s ability to snuff out danger and will have to do without him again today. With Scott McTominay and Christian Eriksen still injured, Erik ten Hag has to stick with the flaky Fred and the rusty Marcel Sabitzer or twist by pushing a defender into midfield. He has given Victor Lindelof a few minutes there and pointed out that Lindelof is used to it from his days at Benfica. A better bet would surely be Lisandro Martinez, with his bite and creativity, but he is rumoured to be unavailable today.
Ten Hag’s other problem is that his regulars may well be knackered. This is Man United’s 15th game in all competitions since the World Cup, two more than the next Premier League club (Southampton). As Ten Hag is a reluctant rotator, the likes of Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Raphael Varane and Luke Shaw have a lot of miles on the clock.
Leeds, for a team with no boss, are in quite a good place. They’ve got Patrick Bamford back and Wilfried Gnonto flying. They haven’t won in the league since 5 November, when they beat Bournemouth 4-3, but the four wins they collected before that included upsets against Chelsea and Liverpool. With Elland Road baying for blood, they’ll fancy their chances of another big scalp.
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