Ruben Amorim has been tipped to start one “bright spark” for Manchester United’s second-leg Europa League clash against Lyon.
Manchester United and Lyon played out a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final clash in France last week, setting the stage for a crucial second leg at Old Trafford this Thursday night.
Ruben Amorim’s side will be eager to respond after suffering a heavy 4-1 defeat to Newcastle — a result made worse by an injury to key forward Joshua Zirkzee, adding further complexity to their tactical setup.
Lyon, on the other hand, travel to Manchester full of confidence after a convincing 3-1 win over Auxerre at the weekend, a victory that kept them firmly in fourth place in Ligue 1.
With everything to play for, United must swiftly regroup and refocus ahead of what is set to be a decisive and potentially season-defining encounter.
Amorim tipped to start “bright” Mount vs Lyon
Amorim confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that Zirkzee will be unavailable for the rest of the season after pulling his hamstring against the Magpies.
The no.11 would have been certain to start this game, either behind Rasmus Højlund or instead of him, but that position is now freed up.
Laurie Whitwell has tipped Mason Mount to start in this Lyon clash after admitting he was “surprised” to not see the England midfielder in the team for the Newcastle game on the weekend.
The Athletic journalist, while speaking on MUTV, was asked about the prospect of seeing Mount start the game after providing a “bright spark” off the bench since his return from injury.
Yeah, I’ve really liked watching him. I mean what he does have, as well as the technical ability that we know, is that bit of edge,” Whitwell said.
“He took a booking for a tactical foul in one of his appearances early on, he got into it in Lyon when it was getting a bit testy, over at Newcastle as well, putting his foot in.
“So I think on the ball he adds something to the United attack and certainly in that number 10 position, I think that really seems to suit him.
“But off the ball, it’s the fact that he’s able to cover ground well and also make those kind of tackles, win the ball back, that is really crucial to Amorim’s system.
“So let’s see whether he can actually start the game because I thought he would start against Newcastle, I was surprised not to see him but I guess they’re managing is load carefully given the injury problems that he’s had over the past two years.”
Amorim confirms Onana starts vs Lyon
So far, the only confirmed team news we have is that André Onana will start between the sticks against the French opposition despite his mistakes last week.
“Onana will play tomorrow,” Amorim said in his pre-match press conference. “He had one weekend that I felt it was better for him to not play, and a good thing for Altay, and this week, my thinking was to put Onana to play.”
The defensive line is quite predictable with Harry Maguire and Patrick Dorgu likely to return to play alongside Leny Yoro, Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot.
Casemiro is set to start in midfield after being rested last week, but it remains to be seen whether he will be partnered by Manuel Ugarte or Bruno Fernandes.
Should club captain Fernandes start the game in that deeper role, it would make sense for Mason Mount to come into the starting XI to play alongside Alejandro Garnacho in the advanced positions behind the striker.
Mount has not started a game for United since 15 December against Manchester City, where he was substituted in the first-half with injury.
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