Manchester United will expect to bounce back from their derby day defeat when travelling to Cyprus to face Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League tomorrow evening.
The third game in the group will mark the midway stage and after one win and one loss, United will be keen to get the three points to keep their chances alive of topping Group E.
Omonia are currently propping up the group, having lost their opening two fixtures against Sheriff Tiraspol and Real Sociedad, respectively.
United started their campaign with a 1-0 loss at home to Sociedad before getting themselves back on track with a routine 2-0 win in Moldova against Sheriff.
Omonia do have a familiar face in their dug-out, with Scottish manager Neil Lennon currently in charge of the Cypriot side. Lennon’s men currently sit fourth in their domestic league, with three wins and two losses from their opening five games.
Whilst some changes are expected, Ten Hag has stated he will be naming a strong side in Cyprus tomorrow, despite having a few injuries in his ranks.
Rapha Varane, Harry Maguire, Donny van de Beek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are the most notable absentees, all missing due to respective injuries.
Varane and Maguire are expected to be back available before Van de Beek and Wan-Bissaka, who have both struggled to get into Ten Hag’s side even when fit.
Teg Hag is expected to stick with is trusted 4-2-3-1 formation, with big names coming into the team.
Victor Lindelof and Lisandro Martinez finished the defeat at the Etihad and are the expected centre-back pairing. Cristiano Ronaldo and Casemiro are also likely to be in the starting XI having been starved of minutes so far this season.
Ronaldo, especially, will be desperate for a good performance, having struggled in his cameos for club and country at the start of this campaign. The Ronaldo show is facing question marks like never before at present and CR7 will be out to silence critics with a match-winning display.
United are expected to win in Cyprus and anything less would represent a disaster for Ten Hag, who will want to wrap up qualification for the group as soon as possible, given the packed schedule ahead.
With only the team that top the group going directly through to the round of 16 and second placed teams having to face a playoff against a Champions League side dropping down, it’s imperative United keep on the coattails of Sociedad with three points tomorrow night.
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