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Manchester United will travel to Kazakhstan to face their league leaders Astana in matchday 5 of the Europa League. The Red Devils drew with Sheffield United 3-3 in an exhilarating game of football last weekend and will look to cement their qualification status this Wednesday night.
Team News
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has decided to take a majority of academy players with him to Kazakhstan. This is due to the Red Devils' position in the Premier League wherein they need to stay on their toes to win games, and due to the lengthy injury list concerning the club.
Marcos Rojo, Eric Bailly, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Diogo Dalot, Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba are some of the players who have been ruled out of this fixture. Jesse Lingard, Luke Shaw and Axel Tuanzebe are the three senior players who have travelled with the team and they are expected to feature in some capacity. A couple of academy players are expected to make their debut for the Old Trafford team.
For Astana, only striker Firmin Mubele is unavailable due to a knee injury he sustained near the end of September. The rest of the squad is available for selection.
Injuries
Manchester United - Marcos Rojo, Eric Bailly, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Diogo Dalot, Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba
Astana - Firmin Mubele
Recent form
Manchester United are two points clear at the top of the group with four games played. The former Europa League winners have, however, been lacking in the Premier League. They currently sit at 9th position and will be looking to build on a victory in this game.
United's form outside the Premier League is much stronger, with three wins and a draw from their first four Europa League games.
Astana won their sixth consecutive league title earlier this month. However, their European form has been poor; they have lost all four of their Europa League group games so far and have scored only once while conceding 14.
They have 0 points and will be unable to qualify for the next round, but this game against an inexperienced Manchester United team could see them gain a historic result.
Astana form (all competitions): LWWWLL
Manchester United form (all competitions): WWLWWD
Expected line-ups
Astana:
Eric; Rukavina, Postnikov, Logvinenko, Shomko; Beisebekov, Pertsukh, Mayewski, Rotariu; Tomasov, Khizhnichenko
Manchester United:
Grant; Laird, Tuanzebe, Bernard, Shaw; Garner, Levitt; Chong, Lingard, Gomes; Greenwood
Prediction
Astana 1-1 Manchester United
Also check out: Premier League Premier League Table Champions League Schedule
