Manchester United predicted XI vs Nottingham Forest in Carabao Cup (2nd leg): Sancho’s return?

With a 3-0 lead on aggregate following a dominant performance in the first leg last week, Manchester United will likely field a changed XI hoping to book their place in the Carabao Cup final.

February is an important month for United with a game almost every three days which includes Wednesday’s clash and the much-anticipated matches against Barcelona in the Europa League.

There are five Premier League games which could prove crucial for securing top four. And of course, the Carabao cup final at the end of the month should Ten Hag’s side progress after Wednesday’s game.

Whilst a strong team is still expected, Ten Hag will certainly be aware of the important month ahead and therefore could look to rest some key players and allow players such as Facundo Pellistri to make his first start for the club.

Between the sticks, David de Gea is expected to start as United will likely want to keep their first-choice keeper at the back for the remainder of this cup campaign which has seen both Martin Dúbravka and Tom Heaton start previously.

The centre backs that sit in front of De Gea are difficult to predict however, I expect the same pairing as the previous leg of Lisandro Martínez and Victor Lindelöf. Martínez offers experience having been one of the club’s most reliable players this season and Lindelöf has performed well in back-to-back starts and therefore, a start for both seems the most likely.

That being said, don’t be surprised to see Raphaël Varane on the team sheet or a consecutive start for club captain Harry Maguire.

It remains to be seen whether Luke Shaw or Diogo Dalot will be available for selection having both spent some time on the sidelines following a recent illness and injury respectively.

Whilst Shaw is the more likely of the two to make his way back into the squad, I still expect Tyrell Malacia to start this game, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the opposite side.

The midfield is where I expect to see the first change of personnel from the team that started the previous leg following Eriksen’s injury in the FA cup at the weekend, ruling him out until late April at the earliest. In his place, I expect to see Fred make a return to the starting line-up, alongside his national teammate Casemiro.

Bruno Fernandes will likely sit in front of the two Brazilians following a late goal in the first leg as he seems to be continuing to improve under Ten Hag’s system.

Marcus Rashford may be rested in this leg to protect United’s main man in form ahead of the tricky month ahead where Ten Hag will likely look to his top goal scorer to produce some magic. In his place, I think we may see Facundo Pellistri start on the right with fellow youngster Alejandro Garnacho playing on the opposite side.

Once again, Wout Weghorst is expected to start up front, despite Ten Hag confirming that Anthony Martial should be fit enough to make the matchday squad for the first time since coming off injured at half-time during the 2-1 win in the Manchester derby a couple of weeks ago.

Wednesday’s game should also see the long-awaited return of Jadon Sancho to the matchday squad however, at this stage a start is unlikely. Expect an appearance off the bench in the later stages of the game.

Full predicted XI

De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelöf, Martinez, Malacia; Casemiro, Fred, Fernandes; Garnacho, Weghorst, Pellistri.