Former Manchester United defender has predicted that Ruben Amorim will start one Manchester United star in the “perfect” role for the first time against Lyon.
Manchester United and Lyon played to an entertaining 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final in France last week, setting up a pivotal second leg at Old Trafford this Thursday night.
Ruben Amorim’s side will be aiming to bounce back after a humbling 4-1 defeat to Newcastle on the weekend, with their game against the Ligue 1 side extremely important.
Lyon, in contrast, head to Manchester with momentum on their side following a confident 3-1 win over Auxerre, a result that kept them securely in fourth place in Ligue 1.
With everything still up for grabs, United must regroup quickly and sharpen their focus ahead of a clash that could prove crucial in defining their season.
Brown predicts Amorim to select Shaw vs Lyon
Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown has predicted the United starting lineup for this second-leg clash.
There aren’t too many surprises in the Champions League winner’s team, with Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire in the eleven.
However, the one major call in Brown’s side is the prediction for Luke Shaw to start his first game of the season under Amorim.
Shaw came off the bench against Newcastle on the weekend and Brown tips him to start on the left side of United’s back three in a 2-1 win for the Reds.
The defender has came off the bench to play in that position for Amorim several times now but is yet to start a game for the Portuguese coach.
Brown’s full XI can be read in full here: Onana; Yoro, Maguire, Shaw; Dalot, Ugarte, Mainoo, Garnacho; Mount, Fernandes; Hojlund.
Brown believes wide centre-back role is “perfect” for Shaw
Speaking earlier this month about the defender, Brown suggested that he thinks the wide centre-back role in Amorim’s system could be the perfect role for Shaw going forward.
“The competition for Luke has stepped up a notch, 100 per cent, and I have always said that is what you want in any squad. You want competition and, if Luke does get back, then the manager is able to bring him in, maybe play them both at the same time, you don’t know,” Brown told MUTV.
“I can’t fault him [Dorgu] at all. He’s got great pace, power, he loves to get forward, he is quick and he can defend as well. But we know what Luke can do that as well. Luke can probably play, if needed, in the back three that the manager has as well.
“It could be the perfect spot for Luke. But it is more about Luke staying fit now. To do that, he has got to forget about what has happened, just get back into training, get back in the flow, start to enjoy it, don’t think negatively, always positively and see if he can stay fit.”
Should the 29-year-old defender end up starting the clash, it would be his first time in the lineup for United since a game against Luton Town in February 2024.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 12:30 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.