Manchester United have named their team to face Brentford tonight.
Cristiano Ronaldo is back in after missing the weekend’s trip to Villa with injury, so Edinson Cavani misses out – but Harry Maguire remains on the sidelines with his hip injury causing him grief.
Ralf Rangnick confirmed that Aaron Wan-Bissaka is likely to miss a couple of games, too – but welcomed Paul Pogba back after the Frenchman was pictured in training yesterday.
Jadon Sancho is missing from the squad completely, but Anthony Martial is back on the bench after his controversial omission from the squad at the weekend. Rangnick had claimed the Frenchman refused to be part of the squad – Martial responded by posting on social media that he has never refused to play for the club.
In his pre-match conversations, Rangnick insisted the matter has been dealt with, and chose instead to discuss Pogba.
“It was the first training session yesterday after two-and-a-half months of injury and in this training session he showed, in every moment, when we played 6v6 or whatever we did in the rondos, that he’s an extraordinary player and that he can give a lot of positive input into the team, if he’s fully focused,” the manager told ManUtd.com. “I had a long conversation with him for more than an hour after the training session, a very good conversation. He committed himself until the end of the season. He explained to me that he wants to be the best possible Paul Pogba that he can be. Yes, I’m very much looking forward to having him available in two weeks’ time, after the international break, for three different competitions. As I said, what I saw in training yesterday was amazing. Very good standard of performance physically, emotionally and technically. Now it’s about showing that and having that transfer on to the pitch once he’s fully available.”
“Apart from that, we have all other players available. Jesse Lingard might be out through injury. We have to wait and see what happens with Anthony Martial. He didn’t train yesterday, neither on Sunday. According to the doctor, he informed me before the press conference that he can be a candidate for training today. Then we will see after the training and take it from there.”
It is Manchester United’s first trip to Brentford since 1947 in the league, and of course they have only recently moved into their new stadium. The Bees were promoted to the Premier League last season and have enjoyed a fantastic first campaign in the top division, as they look to consolidate their safety.
The game is rescheduled after a postponement in December and is live on BT Sport in the UK.
Team : De Gea, Dalot, Lindelöf, Varane, Telles, McTominay, Fred, Bruno, Sancho, Elanga, Ronaldo.