Double fitness boost as OGS makes 3 changes | Expected Man Utd line-up vs Barcelona

Manchester United will be looking to secure a positive result from the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona at Old Trafford on Wednesday night. Here is the line-up I think Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will go with…

Goalkeeper: There is no point deliberating too much over who’ll start in goal as David De Gea is certain to keep his place between the sticks with Sergio Romero once again on the bench. United will hope their No.1 is on top form as he’s likely to be in for a busy night.

Defence: Ashley Young and Luke Shaw are expected to retain their places in the full-back positions but they’re both one booking away from being suspended for the second leg so they’ll need to tread carefully tomorrow night.

Man Utd were boosted with the return of Victor Lindelof for the defeat at Wolves last week and the Swede is set to continue in the middle of the back four. Chris Smalling has been back in favour under Solskjaer in recent weeks so he should keep his place alongside Lindelof.

That means Phil Jones will have to settle for a place on the bench but Eric Bailly remains unavailable for selection along with Antonio Valencia.

Midfield: Man Utd will hand a late fitness test to Nemanja Matic as he’s carrying a muscle strain. The Serbian international was an unused substitute against Wolves last Tuesday night but he’s expected to be passed fit to start against Barcelona.

However, Ander Herrera is set to miss out after failing to overcome a knock which kept him out of the Wolves game. Herrera didn’t train today and Solskjaer says he’s unlikely to feature against the Catalans tomorrow.

Paul Pogba will obviously keep his place in midfield and Scott McTominay could be given the nod ahead of Fred. Solskjaer will want plenty of energy in midfield to compete against the Barcelona attack and McTominay is probably more suited than the Brazilian.

Attack: Man Utd will assess Marcus Rashford’s fitness on Wednesday morning after he returned to training this afternoon. The striker missed the defeat at Wolves last week with an ankle injury but will be back in contention as long as he doesn’t suffer any reaction from today’s session.

Romelu Lukaku is an option for United but I think Solskjaer will give Rashford every opportunity to prove his fitness to lead the line up front as he’ll want the youngster’s pace to cause Barca problems on the counter attack.

Jesse Lingard should keep his place ahead of Juan Mata in the Man Utd attack while Anthony Martial is pushing for a recall after being named on the bench last time out. I think the Frenchman will start on the left side with Diogo Dalot making way.

Alexis Sanchez returned to full training today after recovering from a knee injury but the Chilean international isn’t available for selection just yet as he’s not match fit having missed the last five games.

Here is how we think United will line-up: