The Red Devils secured a 2-0 win over Leeds on Sunday afternoon, moving five points clear of fourth-placed Newcastle. Marcus Rashford raised his tally to 12 goals this season when he opened the scoring in the 80th minute when he nodded past Ilan Meslier from close range.
Alejandro Garnacho then came off the bench to double the hosts’ lead after just five minutes, using his blistering pace to take advantage of a tired Leeds defense to race down the wing before firing a neat finish into the far corner.
The performance was one that Ten Hag would be happy with, although he will know his side will need to improve if they are to beat Barcelona later this week. Express Sport takes a look at three players he could drop for the Europa League clash…
Harry Maguire
Although he made a seamless return to the heart of United’s defense against Leeds, it is more or less inevitable that captain Harry Maguire will return to the bench later this week. The England international has fallen down the promotion pecking order at Old Trafford, with the emergence of Luke Shaw in central defense adding more competition for places.
Lisandro Martinez is unable to feature against Barcelona, so Ten Hag made the decision to rest Raphael Varane at the weekend, and one would expect the France international to play alongside Shaw at the Camp Nou with United unwilling to risk Maguire making a mistake.
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Despite picking up the man of the match award on Sunday, Fred looks the most likely candidate to drop to the bench for the game against Barcelona to make way for Casemiro. The former Real Madrid star has now served a three-game suspension following his red card against Crystal Palace, and will return to action in such a high-pressure game.
Marcel Sabitzer has impressed since joining United on loan from Bayern Munich and could be a candidate to join the squad, although his experience competing at the highest level could prove invaluable against a talented Barcelona side.
