Manchester United have won two consecutive league games, so they should be high on morale heading into this match. AS Saint-Etienne are currently in fifth place in French Ligue 1 with 10 wins, 9 draws and 6 losses. Manchester United will certainly be the favorites to advance to the next round, but AS Saint-Etienne will not be a pushover.
Let’s take a look at the possible lineup for Manchester United.
GK- David de Gea
Sergio Romero could get a chance to start in the FA Cup over the weekend against Blackburn, but de Gea will likely start against Saint-Etienne on Thursday.
LB- Daley Blind
Blind started against Watford and I think he did well enough to keep his spot in the lineup. Jose Mourinho still does not appear to fancy Luke Shaw at the moment, which also bodes well for Blind’s playing time.
CB- Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling
Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones both missed the game against Watford due to injuries. It is very possible that one or both of them will be fit in time for the game on Thursday. However, Bailly and Smalling have started together, and played well, in each of the last two matches, so I could see Mourinho sticking with this duo even if Jones and/or Rojo is healthy.
RB- Antonio Valencia
Valencia is one of the best players on this Manchester United team, and he clearly deserves to be in the lineup for this match.
CM- Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera
Pogba and Herrera did well together in this formation against Watford, and I think they will do well again on Thursday. I do not believe Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini are not playing well enough to get in the starting lineup for this game.
AML- Anthony Martial
Martial scored a goal and had an assist against Watford over the weekend. Martial has a goal and three assists in his last two appearances, so clearly he deserves more playing time.
AMC- Henrikh Mkhitaryan
The Armenian got off to a slow start this season, but he has now emerged as one of Manchester United’s best players. He is still in good form, and needs to be in the starting lineup for this match.
AMR- Juan Mata
Mata has scored in each of his last two appearances, and he certainly deserves to stay in the starting XI. Saint-Etienne are a great defensive team (only allowed 19 goals in 25 league matches so far this season), so Mata’s offensive abilities will be needed for Manchester United in this game.
ST- Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan has cooled off since his amazing run of form from November to January earlier this season, but he is still an elite striker. Zlatan has one goal and one assist in his last two appearances, so he may be starting to heat up once again.
