Man Utd vs AC Milan: Europa League Preview | Confirmed Team News | Expected Line-ups

Man Utd host AC Milan at Old Trafford this evening for the first leg of their last 16 round tie, as they look to take the first step towards securing their place in the Quarter-Finals of the Europa League.

Both Man Utd and AC Milan currently hold second-place positions in their respective leagues and both go into this game fresh from a victory at the weekend. Therefore, this will be an interesting match-up, with both teams likely to put in a high-quality and confident performance.

Referring to the excitement surrounding the game, Man Utd manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said, “You look [at] the tie, Man United vs AC Milan, that sounds Champions League-like”. So, hopefully, the tie lives up to its expectations.

Team News

Man Utd have been struggling recently with many of their first-team players out with injuries. In an update given by Solskjaer in his pre-match press conference, the Utd manager confirmed that, “David [de Gea] is not available. Donny [van de Beek], no. Paul [Pogba], no. Edinson [Cavani], maybe, but probably not. Juan [Mata], no”.

Furthermore, Marcus Rashford picked up an ankle injury in the game against Man City at the weekend. Giving an update on the Englishman, Solskjaer said, “Even though normally I’m a very optimistic guy, I still think he’s going to be out tomorrow night and a doubt for the weekend”.

This is a massive blow for Utd as Rashford has been a key man for the team, playing in almost every fixture this season. However, even if he is made available, as Utd have an big game coming up against West Ham, it may be seen as more important that Rashford is rested in the hope that he recovers for the weekend.

As expected, Zlatan Ibrahimovic did not make the travelling squad for AC Milan after he picked up a muscle injury earlier this month. This is a blow, not only for Milan, but also for some fans of Utd who would have liked to have seen the Swede in action again at Old Trafford.

Further to this, Ismael Bennacer, Hakan Calhanoglu, Theo Hernandez, Ante Rebic and Mario Mandzukic did not make the squad.

Expected Line-ups

Man Utd (4-2-3-1): Henderson; Wan-Bissaka, Bailly, Maguire, Telles; Fred, Matic; Martial, Fernandes, James; Greenwood.

With David de Gea still in Spain, Dean Henderson will be back in goal for the reds. At the back, Solskjaer is likely to make two changes from the weekend, with Eric Bailly and Alex Telles coming into the squad for Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw.

In the middle, it is likely Nemanja Matic will come into the squad in order to give either Fred or Scott McTominay a rest for the weekend. As McTominay has just recently come back from injury, Solskjaer may opt to start Fred with Matic and rest McTominay for this game.

With Rashford highly doubtful to recover in time, there is a chance Anthony Martial will start on the left as he has stated his preference to play in this position in the past.

This would give Mason Greenwood the chance to play as a centre-forward, which is suggested to be his future position as a Utd player. This would mean Daniel James starts again on the right with Bruno Fernandes retaining his place in the middle.

AC Milan (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Calabria, Kjaer, Romagnoli, Dalot; Tonali, Kessie; Saelemaekers, Diaz, Castillejo, Leao