Man Utd face Charlton in the Carabao Cup tonight but their fixture schedule has been added to thanks to a late decision by the Premier League.
Scott McTominay and Fred could come into the United side tonight, with key players such as Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes needing a rest (Image: Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
When it comes to rotating his Manchester United team it has been a case of once bitten, twice shy for Erik ten Hag. He ripped up his regular XI against Real Sociedad at the start of the Europa League campaign and the reward for that is a two-legged tie against Barcelona next month.
Ten Hag made seven changes that night and saw United lose 1-0. They were unable to do enough to overcome that setback and finished second in the group, meaning a play-off round and a Champions League-level opponent.
Since then, there has been a reluctance to do too much tinkering. The remaining five Europa League group fixtures saw strong teams picked and it was a very strong side that faced Everton in the FA Cup third round on Friday night, with perhaps only Lisandro Martinez missing from Ten Hag’s best XI.
The two Carabao Cup fixtures so far have seen some minor rotation, but against Aston Villa Ten Hag picked four of his next XI and brought three more off the bench. Then against Burnley he named five of his regular team, despite the game coming just three days after the end of the World Cup final.
Rotation hasn’t really been Ten Hag’s style recently at United and there’s an argument he’s wanted to keep the momentum bubbling away. Their run of seven successive wins includes two games in the Carabao Cup and one in the FA Cup.
Tonight they face Charlton in the last eight of the Carabao Cup and although it’s a quarter-final tie for a club that has gone six years without a trophy, it has to be an opportunity to ring the changes against League One opposition.
Ten Hag might have been in two minds about team selection and how strong to go, but confirmation on Sunday that the game at Crystal Palace has been rearranged for next Wednesday is likely to have an influence of thinking. Rather than having eight days from the Manchester derby at Old Trafford to the trip to Arsenal at the Emirates, they now have another jaunt to London sandwiched in between.
It’s turned into a big week for Ten Hag’s side. City and Arsenal are the two toughest games in the Premier League so far and it makes the middle game, against Palace, a much win. United also face City having been embarrassed in the reverse fixture earlier in the season.
They can’t afford injuries before that key run of games, especially with Barcelona also on the horizon. In fact, if United beat Charlton tonight they will have only one free midweek between December 21 until the last weekend of February.
That is a demanding schedule and it shows why rotation is vital. Can Ten Hag dare risk Marcus Rashford tonight, for example? The forward is the key man for United in front of goal and he will be needed in the games to come, rather than against Charlton.
Bruno Fernandes and Anthony Martial have also started both Carabao Cup games so far. Fernandes is vital to United under Ten Hag and at the moment Martial remains the only striker on the books, with a move still ongoing for Wout Weghorst.
So while there might be a reluctance to take risks in the quarter-final of a cup competition, then are sterner tasks ahead in a packed calendar for United. Ten Hag might have to roll the dice tonight.
SOURCE: manchestereveningnews.co.uk
