Manchester United predicted XI vs Wigan as Erik ten Hag ignores player plea

Erik ten Hag is expected to ignore Amad Diallo’s plea to play football as Manchester United face Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup at DW Stadium.

Manchester United will be embarking on their first fixture of 2024 as they open their campaign for this season’s FA Cup with an away tie against Wigan Athletic.

Last time out, Erik ten Hag‘s men fell at the final hurdle as they lost 2-1 against Manchester City in the competition’s final at Wembley Stadium, with some blaming David de Gea for the goals conceded.

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This time around, United will debut a new goalkeeper in the competition, with André Onana between the sticks after it was confirmed that he would be able to play for United despite Cameroon’s preparation for AFCON.

Erik ten Hag is expected to field a strong team on Monday evening, with the club not having played a game for ten days since their 2-1 loss against Nottingham Forest, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jonny Evans, Raphaël Varane, and Diogo Dalot expected to form the back line.

Lisandro Martínez returned to training earlier this week but is not expected to start, while the fitness of left-back Luke Shaw remains unknown.

In midfield, despite the return of Casemiro to training, Kobbie Mainoo is set to keep his place after good form since his breakthrough into the squad at the back end of 2023.

He is likely to be joined by Bruno Fernandes in the middle of the park, with Christian Eriksen set to make up the midfield three as United will likely dominate in possession.

In attack, despite returning to the field against Forest, Amad Diallo is not likely to start. The young winger recently spoke in an interview of his desire to play as many minutes as possible, and although the game against Wigan may be an opportune moment for this, Ten Hag will likely want to favour Antony on the right-hand side.

Marcus Rashford is expected to start on the opposite wing, with Ten Hag keen to get the England international back to his best form, which a game against League One opposition could aid.

Finally, Rasmus Højlund has returned to training after missing the Forest game due to illness and is expected to start as the striker.

Full Manchester United predicted XI

Onana, Wan-Bissaka, Evans, Varane, Dalot, Mainoo, Eriksen, Fernandes, Antony, Højlund, Garnacho.