Erik ten Hag has to field his strongest team for the League Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest, although it is becoming less clear who is in this best team.
At the time of writing, it is unclear whether Diogo Dalot or Anthony Martial will recover in time to play. Of the two, Dalot is likely to be recalled to the starting line-up, as his deputy Aaron Van Bissaka did not play very well against Arsenal on Sunday. Martial’s deputy, Wut Weghorst, on the contrary, spoke very competently.
Another reason is that United should be ahead of Forest, and Dalot is much more capable of going forward than Van Bissaka.
However, since he has not yet returned to training, it is unlikely that he will be fit enough to start.
The rest of the defense is likely to remain unchanged, too, despite the fact that the Gunners scored three goals.
Rafael Varane and Lisandro Martinez made almost no mistakes, but in the absence of Casemiro due to suspension, they were not given protection in midfield.
He will surely be remembered along with Christian Eriksen, and Scott McTominay will return to the bench.
If Martial is fit, we expect him to start on the bench, but it remains to be seen whether Weghorst will be served by Anthony again after another poor performance at the Emirates.
One option is to switch Marcus Rashford to the right flank and Alejandro Garnacho to the left, which seems most likely.
Another possibility is for Fred to start in midfield and Bruno Fernandes to be asked to replace him on the right flank.
Jadon Sancho is a secondary opportunity, he has returned to full—fledged team training, but without playing preparation, he is also likely to start his return from the bench.
With all this in mind, here is our projected lineup for the semifinals, the first match:
