Man Utd host Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday night, and it’s mixed news for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the injury front.
The Red Devils saw off Paris Saint-Germain in dramatic fashion in the last round, and they’ll hope to take some of that confidence into this tie too.
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As noted by the Evening Standard, Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera were amongst the doubts to feature in midweek, and it seems as though neither have been able to overcome possible injury concerns as they are not in the squad to face Barcelona, as seen below.
Given the experience and quality that they possess between them, their absence will arguably be a major blow for Man Utd, especially in their defensive shape and organisation to try and nullify Barca’s attack.
Instead, Fred and Scott McTominay get the nod from Solskjaer in midfield alongside Paul Pogba, and that trio will certainly have a tough challenge ahead.
Meanwhile, there was some good news too as BBC Sport had noted that Marcus Rashford was also an injury doubt with an ankle problem.
However, the England international has been included in the starting line-up, and his pace, movement and goal threat will potentially be huge for United on the counter attack against Barcelona’s slower and perhaps less agile backline.
Combined with the more physical presence from Romelu Lukaku, the Red Devils will hope that they have the right balance in the line-up to at least pick up a positive result to take with them to the Nou Camp next week, with their injured stars having more time to recover to feature in the second leg.
? Your #MUFC team to face Barcelona ? #UCL
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 10, 2019
