Jose Mourinho’s preparations for Arsenal have been thrown into disarray by a defensive injury crisis.
The Manchester United manager fears he will have to name a makeshift back four against Unai Emery’s rampant attack in tonight’s crunch game at Old Trafford.
Mourinho claims he will have to wait until the last moment to name his starting XI, with doubts hanging over a host of players.
Chris Smalling, Eric Bailly and Antonio Valencia have been included in his provisional squad, but Mourinho is not convinced any of them will be fit enough to start after being ruled out of Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Southampton.
Victor Lindelof and Phil Jones are both out, while Luke Shaw is another doubt after picking up a knock at St Mary’s. Ashley Young is also suspended.
It means Marcos Rojo is likely to play for the first time this season, while midfielder Nemanja Matic may be deployed as an emergency centre back.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are expected to make one change to the side that defeated Tottenham 4-2 in the north London derby on Sunday.
Granit Xhaka is serving a one-match ban after collecting five yellow cards, so Matteo Guendouzi will partner Lucas Torreira in midfield.
Emery will deploy the same back-three of Robert Holding, Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis, while Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette – who played a huge part in overturning Tottenham’s lead on Sunday – are set to make do with a place on the bench.
Man Utd vs Arsenal: Predicted line-ups
Man Utd (4-3-3): De Gea; Dalot, Matic, Rojo, Darmian; Herrera, Fellaini, Pogba; Rashford, Martial, Lukaku
Arsenal (3-4-2-1): Leno; Mustafi, Sokratis, Holding; Bellerin, Guendouzi, Torreira, Kolasinac; Iwobi, Mkhitaryan; Aubameyang
