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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Joe Bray

Manchester United fans pick one starter to definitely start upfront against Barcelona in Champions League

Manchester United fans are split over which strike pairing they want Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to start against Barcelona, but they are clear that Marcus Rashford should be part of it.

United host Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-final first leg at Old Trafford on Wednesday, looking to take a positive result into the second leg at the Nou Camp a week later.

In the previous round, Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford were the heroes in Paris, while it was Anthony Martial and Rashford who played in the first leg at Old Trafford.

The trio have individually struggled for fitness at different stages of the last few months, making a consistent partnership difficult to maintain for Solskjaer.

But United have arguably looked more threatening when Rashford has been part of the attacking line-up, especially under Solskjaer.

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So when MEN Sport asked fans on Twitter which pairing they would choose to face Barcelona this week, 95% said they wanted Rashford to start.

The English international missed the last game at Wolves through injury, and if fit he would return against a formidable defensive partnership of Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet, who have helped Barca sit nine points clear at the top of La Liga and reach the Copa Del Rey final.

However, the 3,741 respondents to our poll were split over who should partner Rashford at Old Trafford.

48% wanted to see Romelu Lukaku start to offer a more physical threat, while 47% picked Martial to offer a more pacy approach.

Only 5% opted to see Lukaku and Martial together.

Of course, Solskjaer could name all three with Rashford and Martial operating from the wing, but he has preferred a narrower formation with two strikers supported by an attacking midfielder in the bigger games such as this one.

But even if fans can't decide between Martial and Lukaku, they have sent a clear message to Solskjaer that they want to see Rashford in the starting line up on Wednesday.

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