1
Patrick Dorgu returns to his three match suspension today leaving Ruben Amorim with even fewer left sided options at his disposal for the home Premier League match with Arsenal.
Injury crisis shows no sign of relenting
Altay Bayindir, Jonny Evans, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount and Amad are all also definitely out injured while Harry Maguire and Manu Ugarte are very doubtful.
Ugarte stands the better chance of being fit but with the huge Europa League second leg against Real Sociedad on Thursday, he may not be risked even if available.
Expected Line-up
We expect either Toby Collyer or Casemiro to partner Bruno Fernandes in midfield. Collyer played a couple of minutes on Thursday on his return from injury and his energy will be much needed against the Gunners, so we think that he might be the preferred option.
In defence, Andre Onana will almost certainly be in goal.
In the absence of Dorgu, Noussair Mazraoui will probably play wing back so if Maguire is not fit, either Victor Lindelof or Ayden Heaven will join Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro in the back three. We think it will probably be Lindelof.
Diogo Dalot will be the other wing back.
Up front there are few options, although Chido Obi could be given a start if Amorim decides to rest Rasmus Hojlund. However, we think it’s more likely that Hojlund will play at least 45 minutes.
Josh Zirkzee and Alejandro Garnacho will probably support him, although Christian Eriksen is another option.
With all that in mind, here is our predicted XI for today’s 4.30pm kick-off:
Feature image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
