Academy striker to lead the Frontline, according to the predicted lineup for Manchester United’s match against FCSB – Ruben Amorim is releasing Hujlund and Zirkzee in order to acquire a striker from Profilic Academy.
During their final League Phase match, which will take place on Thursday night at the National Arena in Romania, Manchester United will be competing against FCSB in an effort to achieve their goal of securing automatic qualification for the round of sixteen of the Europa League.
The two teams will compete against each other for the very first time in Bucharest, and among the 36 teams that are currently in the standings, they are separated by only one point.
There has been a significant amount of unhappiness at Old Trafford ever since Ruben Amorim took over as manager. However, there are some positives to be taken away from the fact that Manchester United has won three of their last four matches across all competitions, even though their performances were not particularly convincing.
Since Amorim referred to his Red Devils team as “possibly the worst” in the club’s history after they suffered a 3-1 loss to Brighton in the Premier League, Manchester United have won by a one-goal margin in their last two matches. They won 2-1 in the Europa League against Rangers the previous week, and then they won 1-0 at Fulham on Sunday, thanks to a strike from Lisandro Martinez in the second half of the match.
The Europa League is arguably Man United’s best chance of securing European football for the upcoming season, and they are in a strong position to secure automatic qualification for the last 16 of the competition. This is because Man United is currently ranked 12th in the Premier League table and 11 points behind the top seven teams.
The fact that Man United is currently in fourth place in the 36-team table and two points ahead of Galatasaray in ninth place means that they are aware that a victory over FCSB, which is currently in eighth place, will ensure that they finish in the top eight. However, if they do not collect all of the possible points, they run the risk of falling into the playoff positions if other results go against them.
Man United will be optimistic about their chances of success on Thursday because they have won five of their last six matches against Romanian opponents, and they have not lost any of their last six Europa League away matches (W4 D2) since they suffered a 2-1 defeat at Astana in November 2019.
The FCSB have been one of the teams that have surprised everyone in the Europa League this season. They are currently in a position to qualify for the round of 16 for the first time since the 2017–18 season.
The team coached by Elias Charalambous has accumulated 14 points from their seven matches in the League Phase (W4 D2 L1) and has gone four games without losing. They have recorded consecutive draws of 0-0 with Olympiacos and Hoffenheim, in addition to victories over FC Midtjylland (2-0) and Qarabag FK (3-2).
At the end of the previous week, FCSB defeated Qarabag in Azerbaijan by coming from behind twice. This victory helped them move up two spots and into eighth place. If they were to secure a famous victory over Manchester United, it would solidify their position in the top eight. However, if they were to lose or draw, it would be possible for them to fall into the last-16 of the playoffs.
The reigning Romanian Liga I champions followed up their victory in Qarabag with a narrow 1-0 league victory over UTA Arad last weekend. The victory was achieved thanks to a penalty kick taken by Florin Tanase in the second half of the match. As a result, they have moved level on points with Universitatea Cluj at the top of the table with only seven games left in the regular season.
FCSB have now refocused their attention on the Europa League. Despite the fact that they have lost each of their most recent seven matches against English clubs by an aggregate score of 20-2, they are going into their very first encounter with Manchester United having only lost three of their previous 22 home matches in the group stage (and now League Phase) of the Europa League (W11 D8). Since then, they have collected seven points from three home games this season.
During the match, Manchester United will be without three players who are injured: Luke Shaw (calf), Jonny Evans (muscle), and Mason Mount (thigh). Additionally, Manuel Ugarte will be evaluated prior to the start of the game after sustaining a knock in the final stages of the victory over Fulham. Marcus Rashford, on the other hand, is not anticipated to be involved due to the lack of clarity surrounding his future.
Amorim will once again take into consideration the possibility of reorganising his starting lineup. Goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, as well as defensive duo Leny Yoro and Tyrell Malacia, are among the players who are vying for a return after starting as substitutes in the previous match.
It is possible that Toby Collyer will be named in Amorim’s midfield on Thursday alongside Kobbie Mainoo, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, or Bruno Fernandes. Joshua Zirkzee will be hoping to start ahead of Rasmus Hojlund in the front line. Toby Collyer started in Man United’s victory over Rangers the previous week, and he impressed as a substitute against Fulham.
As far as FCSB is concerned, they are expected to continue their recovery from injuries, which will result in the absence of Mihai Lixandru (muscle), Octavian Popescu (knock), and Darius Olaru (shoulder), who is their leading scorer.
As a result of a muscle injury, former Tottenham Hotspur defender Vlad Chiriches has not participated in any of the three matches that have taken place recently. However, it is possible that the 35-year-old will be ready to return on Thursday.
Tanase should also return in the final third after scoring last weekend and could replace Malcom Edjouma in the number 10 role. Daniel Birligea, who has scored 11 goals across all competitions this season, is likely to be recalled to lead the line, which will come at the expense of Daniel Popa. Tanase has scored 11 goals this season.
Tarnovanu, Cretu, Ngezana, Dawa, Radunovic, Alhassan, Sut, Stefanescu, Tanase, Miculescu, and Birligea are the players who could potentially start for FCSB.
The following players have been considered for starting positions for Manchester United: Onana; Yoro; Maguire; Martinez; Mazraoui; Collyer; Mainoo; Dalot; Diallo; Fernandes; Hojlund