Two Man United players offered chance to prove Erik ten Hag wrong vs Newcastle

Manchester United face up against Newcastle United on Wednesday evening and some players will get the opportunity to prove their worth to Erik ten Hag.

The Reds have failed to start this season well and have already lost five of their opening 10 Premier League games. They lost nine across the entire 2022/23 league campaign.

Ten Hag’s team looks shot for confidence and the manager has been forced to adapt to different personnel in his lineups due to injury troubles amongst the squad.

However, two players have arguably not been given their fair chance to prove their worth in a difficult time for the club.

Alejandro Garnacho emerged as a first-team regular last term but has started only three games so far this season. His last appearance in the XI came in the Carabao Cup third round against Crystal Palace where he scored and played an impressive game.

The Dutch manager has instead kept faith in Marcus Rashford, who ended the 2022/23 campaign as the club’s top scorer with 30 goals. However, the 26-year-old has only netted once so far this term.

Whilst Ten Hag has vowed to continue trusting Rashford in the hope that his form turns around, Garnacho could have the chance to force the manager’s hand with a performance against Newcastle.

Rashford has been used on the right in recent games when Garnacho has appeared from the bench and that dynamic could become a slightly more permanent fixture if the Argentine can make an impact on Wednesday.

And secondly, another player who started that in Crystal Palace win, which is considered the best performance of the season, is Mason Mount.

The midfielder returned from injury to play the first 45 minutes of that game and was excellent in the midfield alongside Casemiro and Hannibal Mejbri.

After several positive performances following that, Mount has now been dropped to the bench for three games running as Ten Hag used Scott McTominay in the midfield instead.

It appears that the manager is looking to utilise the goalscoring abilities of the Scotsman to help United get through a rough patch, however, Mount can remind the manager that his all-round skillset in the midfield is a major upgrade on his counterpart.

This game, where it’s likely that Mount starts from the beginning offers a great opportunity for the former Chelsea man to prove to his manager that he mustn’t continue to panic and throw McTominay in the team because he has the chance of saving poor performances with a goal with his forward movement.

The academy graduate might have deserved a chance in the team after his heroics off the bench against Brentford, but now, Mount can regain a place in the lineup with a solid performance in the cup.