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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Tom Doyle

How will Man Utd line up vs Wolves? The players who could end Molineux losing streak

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is busy working out how to prevent Manchester United from losing their third game in a row at Molineux when the Red Devils face Wolves on Monday night.

While the United boss will be tempted to stick with the same XI which beat Chelsea 4-0, that scoreline was a little flattering to the Red Devils - and Wolves will pose a different challenge to Frank Lampard's Blues.

Solskjaer gave some hints as to his potential lineup by stating that he is looking back at last season's defeats at Molineux (2-0 in the FA Cup and 2-1 in the Premier League) to see if he can "tweak" his tactics.

The United coach described Nuno Espirito Santo's Wolves as "a hard team to break down, they defend deep, don't give you a lot of spaces, and they can play, they can counter-attack, set pieces are always dangerous."

That suggests Solskjaer could start Juan Mata to try and unlock a stubborn defence, and introduce the pace of Daniel James or Jesse Lingard later on as the game opens up in the second half.

The Norwegian may be tempted to bring Nemanja Matic back into the fold in place of Andreas Pereira.

Despite the Brazilian's impressive showing vs Chelsea, Matic's presence may be needed in what is likely to be a crucial midfield tussle - but after Solskjaer's words of warning about Wolves' counter-attacking ability, Pereira should keep his place.

Solskjaer certainly has options: with the exception of Eric Bailly, who is facing another lengthy spell on the sidelines, United have a clean bill of health.

Alexis Sanchez is working back to match fitness, but should miss out given Solskjaer's options elsewhere.

Axel Tuanzebe was selected on the bench against Chelsea as United's back-up centre-back with Phil Jones and Chris Smalling left out, and could be included in the 18-man squad once again.

Fred is also back in training and Solskjaer had warm words for the midfielder on Friday, hinting he will be under consideration for a return to the matchday squad.

Predicted Man Utd XI

image

David de Gea, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw, Andreas Pereira, Scott McTominay, Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford

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