Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

United name side to take on Istanbul Basaksehir

Wednesday 04 November 2020 16:40

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has named his side to take on Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League.

The Group H encounter presents an opportunity for the Reds to extend our lead at the top of the table, following consecutive wins over Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig.

The game kicks off at 17:55 GMT with the other two teams in the group meeting later in the night in Germany.

For the clash in Turkey, Ole has made six changes to his team, from the one which lost 1-0 to Arsenal at the weekend.

The most notable alteration sees Dean Henderson come in for his first Champions League appearance, with David De Gea on the bench. Lee Grant is the only travelling player to miss out, as expected.

In defence, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw are joined in the back-four by Axel Tuanzebe, who is set to play in his second match of the campaign.

In the centre of the park, Ole has opted for a two-man partnership of Nemanja Matic and Donny van de Beek.

The pair will offer support for our attacking players, with Juan Mata drafted in for his first European appearance of the campaign, with Marcus Rashford expected to line up on the left flank.

Bruno Fernandes, has been selected in the no.10 role, behind Anthony Martial, who missed the weekend loss to the Gunners through suspension.
 
As for the opposition, former Red Rafael will start for Basaksehir, along with ex-Premier League players Martin Skrtel and Demba Ba.

Get ready for Istanbul Basaksehir v United Video

Get ready for Istanbul Basaksehir v United

Remember, MUTV's live coverage of our Champions League Group H match in Turkey begins at 16:50 GMT...

"Dean's been great in the games he's played, and, of course, with a game coming up very, very sharp on Saturday morning as well, that's why we've rotated a few positions, and Dean's deserved his start," Ole told BT Sport.

"It's just man or game management [having Paul Pogba on the bench]. We've got loads of games, and we've just rotated a few names.

"We want to go and win the game. We've had a great start in the group, and if we can go and win tonight that's a good response from the disappointment at the weekend."

THE TEAMS

Basaksehir: Gunok; Rafael, Epureanu, Skrtel, Bolingoli; Visca, Ozcan, Kahveci, Turuc; Ba, Aleksic.

Substitutes: Babacan, Kivanc, Topal, Giuliano, Gulbrandsen, Ponck, Kaplan, Karakus.

United: Henderson; Wan-Bissaka, Tuanzebe, Maguire, Shaw; Matic, van de Beek; Mata, Fernandes, Rashford; Martial.

Substitutes: De Gea, Fosu-Mensah, Lindelof, Mengi, Williams, Fred, James, McTominay, Pogba, Cavani, Greenwood, Ighalo.

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