Manchester United entertain Nottingham Forest in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie tonight. The Red Devils sealed a comfortable 3-0 win in the first leg at City Ground last week and they should easily progress to the final at Wembley Stadium to face Newcastle United. Despite this, manager Erik ten Hag is unlikely to make wholesale changes to the line-up. The Dutchman will treat the game with respect and we should see another strong XI. Formation: 4-2-3-1 Predicted Line-up: David de Gea made his first Carabao Cup appearance of the season in the first leg and the Spaniard is likely to continue between the sticks at Old Trafford. He will be eyeing his 14th clean sheet of the campaign. In defence, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Tyrell Malacia could continue in the full-back roles. Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw have been nursing injuries. Ten Hag did not provide any update in yesterday’s press conference. Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez are likely to be reinstated into the XI. The centre-backs have been the regular picks for the league games. They should return to the fray in preparation for the Crystal Palace clash on Saturday. Casemiro and Christian Eriksen have been Ten Hag’s preferred pairing in midfield but the latter is now sidelined for three months with an ankle injury. Fred seems the natural replacement. New loan signing Marcel Sabitzer is ineligible for the fixture. United have been handed a big boost with Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho back in the squad but we don’t see either of them starting tonight. Martial could be eased into action, having overcome his fourth injury of the season. Sancho, on the other hand, will have to earn his place in the starting line-up following an extended spell on the sidelines working on his fitness. He could be handed with cameos in the coming weeks before earning a starting role. In our view, Alejandro Garnacho and Anthony Elanga are most likely to start in the wide attacking roles with Marcus Rashford and Antony being rested. Wout Weghorst and Bruno Fernandes are likely to complete United’s attack. Ten Hag has barely rested Fernandes over the course of the campaign. Club graduate Kobbie Mainoo earned a surprise full debut against Charlton Athletic last month but it was after Fernandes’ suspension. The Portuguese should start. How Man Utd could line-up vs Forest Stats from Transfermarkt.com
