Rangnick reveals team news for Villa tie

The third-round encounter at Old Trafford provides an opportunity to bounce back from the disappointing 1-0 reverse to Wolves in the Premier League as the Reds begin the road to Wembley against top-flight opponents.

Ralf has suggested he will not make wholesale changes to the line-up, as some other clubs do at this stage of the competition.

"We will definitely not play with eight or nine different players," the boss told MUTV's Stewart Gardner. "Or even 10, as we did against Young Boys in the Champions League.

"We will try to play with the best possible team, with a strong team. There might be a few changes but I haven't taken the final decisions yet myself. We will definitely try to play this game as if it was a normal Premier League or Champions League game."

Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire missed the Wolves game, with COVID-19 and injury respectively, which led to Phil Jones coming in for his first senior outing in almost two years and performing well at the heart of the defence.

"Victor is back in training, since yesterday, which is very good news for us," revealed Rangnick. "Harry hasn't been able to train, as yet, and we have to wait and see how this develops, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

"With Harry, there is still a question mark but Victor will definitely be available for the game on Monday."

Paul Pogba remains sidelined while Eric Bailly and Hannibal are away on Africa Cup of Nations duty. Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay are available as their one-game suspension will only kick in for the Premier League meeting at Villa Park five days later.

VILLA TEAM NEWS UPDATE

Steven Gerrard has confirmed things are looking positive for the Midlanders ahead of the game. Philippe Coutinho has agreed a loan move from Barcelona but has still to complete the process so it seems unlikely he will be involved. However, he could make his debut in our league encounter next weekend.

"Ollie Watkins is due back with the group on Saturday," said Gerrard. "So that will be a welcome addition. Tyrone Mings comes back from suspension. He's fit, well and available.

"Ashley Young has got an outside chance. He's got a frustrating one where he's still got a little bit of discomfort in his fractured toe but he's doing everything he can to get back as quick as he can. The rest is as it was. We've come through the Brentford game with no major injuries. Kortney Hause has had a bit of tightness since but that's settled down and he trained today. Leon Bailly is progressing well, stepping up his rehab as the days go by.

"Assuming the last couple of COVID tests go well, we should be in good shape."

United's on-loan defender Axel Tuanzebe is ineligible and striker Wesley has joined Internacional in Brazil on a 12-month loan.