Rúben Amorim has hinted at four changes to his starting XI as Manchester United line up to face Lyon in the second leg of the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday evening.
Following a heavy 4-1 loss to Newcastle United on Sunday, Rúben Amorim is now fully focused on guiding Manchester United through to the Europa League semi-finals.
United welcome Olympique Lyonnais to Old Trafford on Thursday evening for the second leg of their quarter-final tie, with the score level at 2-2 after a tense opening encounter in France.
Thiago Almada gave Lyon the lead early on, but United hit back through Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee to turn the game around. Just when it looked like Amorim’s men would take a lead into the second leg, Rayan Cherki struck in the 95th minute to restore parity.
With the return fixture on home soil, United will be aiming to take full advantage and book a place in the last four, where they would face either Athletic Bilbao or Rangers.
That semi-final spot is still up for grabs too, following a goalless first leg in Glasgow — a result made all the more impressive by Rangers playing with ten men for over 75 minutes after Robin Pröpper was sent off early in the match.
Amorim hints at four XI changes
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Amorim confirmed that André Onana will start against Lyon after Altay Bayındır started in goal against Newcastle.
As for the defence, there has been a hint that one of the three centre-backs will change. Amorim made a host of adjustments to his starting XI against Newcastle, with Victor Lindelöf playing ahead of Harry Maguire.
However, since the English defender participated in Amorim’s press conference on Wednesday afternoon, it’s expected that he will return to the team on Thursday evening, with Noussair Mazraoui on the right and Leny Yoro on the left.
A second change is likely to be made in midfield. Manuel Ugarte played a full 90 minutes against Newcastle while Casemiro was rested, and it feels likely that the pair will swap for the Europa League fixture, with Bruno Fernandes potentially dropping back next to the Brazilian.
As for the wing-backs, Harry Amass played his first start for the club on the weekend, but with Amorim resting Patrick Dorgu for most of the tie, this insinuates that the Danish international will return to the starting team on the left, with Diogo Dalot on the right.
In attack, Amorim will be forced into a change. Zirkzee has been ruled out for the remainder of the season following a hamstring injury, meaning Rasmus Højlund will almost certainly start up front on Thursday.
With Fernandes set to play a deeper role, this allows Mason Mount to finally start his first game in over three months after returning from injury, while Alejandro Garnacho is expected to continue in the team.
United predicted XI vs Lyon
Onana, Mazraoui, Maguire, Yoro, Dalot, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dorgu, Garnacho, Højlund, Mount.
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