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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Daniel Murphy

Van de Beek and Matic to start - Manchester United team fans wants to see vs RB Leipzig

Manchester United fans want to see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer set his team out in a diamond formation rather than with a back-three against RB Leipzig.

United have travelled to Germany for their crucial last Champions League group game on Tuesday, knowing that if they avoid defeat then their place in the knock-out stages will be guaranteed.

However, if United were to lose then they would be relying on Istanbul Basaksehir to pull off an unlikely upset against Paris Saint-Germain to avoid returning to the Europa League.

Solskjaer has plenty of options on how to approach a game of such importance and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him revert back to the 3-4-1-2 formation that has served him well in big matches in the past. With Leipzig in need of a win and likely to be the aggressors, the formation would be well suited to the match to allow United to absorb pressure then hit their own counters.

Manchester United squad train ahead of RB Leipzig

Supporters, however, believe that the manager should instead utilise the diamond formation that was deployed the last time the two sides faced at Old Trafford, a game which United won 5-0.

They would like to see some changes to the personnel from the last meeting, though, especially in midfield. With Fred suspended for the game following his red card against PSG, fans want to see Scott McTominay on the right of the diamond with Nemanja Matic playing the holding role.

Paul Pogba started on the left of midfield against Leipzig and had his best game of the season in the win over West Ham on Saturday but fans would rather see Donny van de Beek there instead of him on Tuesday, which comes as little surprise following Mino Raiola's latest outburst. Fans want Bruno Fernandes to play at the tip of the diamond.

Despite Luke Shaw's return from injury, fans would like to see Alex Telles remain at left-back alongside Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in defence.

With Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial ruled out, the strike force picks itself with Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford leading the line.

Finally, despite another solid display at the London Stadium, supporters have opted for David de Gea to play in goal following his return from injury rather than Dean Henderson.

Man United fans' XI: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Telles; Matic; McTominay, Van de Beek; Fernandes; Greenwood, Rashford.

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