As he renews his rivalry with Atletico Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo will want to motivate Manchester United once more.
When he was at Real Madrid, the forward had a lot of success against the Spanish team.
Now, fresh off a hat-trick against Tottenham at the weekend, the Portuguese international will be looking to be his team’s match-winner once more.
After missing the Manchester derby, Ralf Rangnick returned the 37-year-old to the starting XI.
In attack, Ronaldo will be backed up by Jadon Sancho, Paul Pogba, and Bruno Fernandes. Sancho was the one who set up Ronaldo for his second goal of the weekend.
Anthony Elanga, who scored United’s equalizer in Madrid, is anticipated to start on the bench, while Marcus Rashford is also poised to miss out.
In defense, Raphael Varane will partner Harry Maguire, with Diogo Dalot and Alex Telles on either side.
Telles has seen plenty of action in recent months due to the absence of Luke Shaw, but the England left-back is back, albeit he may not be risked.
“As of right now, we have all of the players available for tomorrow’s game,” Rangnick stated. Luke Shaw is surrounded by a little question mark.
“He trained yesterday and today, but we’ll have to wait and see if he’ll be fully fit for the game.”
“All of the other players have returned to training and are prepared to play tomorrow.”
Against his previous club, David de Gea will start in goal.
United’s sole hope of winning silverware this season is in the Champions League, else their trophy drought will be extended for another year.
Two English teams have already advanced to the quarterfinals, with Chelsea on the verge of joining them. United would complete the set if they won.
Their interim manager has urged the Old Trafford faithful to support them against a pragmatic Atletico Madrid side managed by Diego Simeone, who have already enjoyed memorable European nights on English soil.
Antonio Conte remarked on the mood after Saturday’s triumph over Tottenham, and Rangnick hopes for a repeat on Tuesday.
“It’s 1-1, we’re at home, and we have to make sure that being at home is an advantage for us,” he explained. After the game, [Spurs manager] Antonio Conte observed, “It was a very challenging atmosphere.”
“As I previously stated, it’s one of the highest compliments you can receive if an opponent’s coach comments after the game of a difficult, special situation for them.”
De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Telles; Fred, McTominay; Sancho, Fernandes, Pogba; Ronaldo
