Man United FC

Three Stars Returns as Erik ten Hag admits he’s facing Man Utd selection dilemma ahead of Aston Villa clash

Bruno Fernandes will miss Manchester United's Premier League match against Aston Villa after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season against West Ham.

Erik ten Hag admitted that time is of the essence as he considers how to replace Bruno Fernandes in Manchester United’s starting XI.

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Fernandes received his fifth Premier League yellow card of the season in last weekend’s 2-1 win over West Ham, and he is now suspended for Sunday’s match against Aston Villa. Under Ten Hag, the Portuguese playmaker has been vital, appearing in all 12 of their league games this season.

He has two goals and one assist in that period, and he has also been a regular in the Europa League lineups. Because Fernandes is so important to the Red Devils, Ten Hag must make a difficult decision about who should replace him in the starting lineup.

“We know we have to replace Bruno, that much is apparent,” Ten Hag remarked at the pre-match press conference. “We have to see how we replace him and think about it, and it is shortly after this game [against Real Sociedad on Thursday].” I’ve got one night to think about it.”

United will face Aston Villa with a new manager in charge, former Arsenal manager Unai Emery. Ten Hag recognized that this is an additional hurdle in terms of how he would prepare for the game.

“I’ll have to think about it.” “I’ll have to see because Aston Villa will be tricky since we don’t know,” the Dutchman said of his center-back options. “They [Villa] have a new manager, and I have to look at that game and analyze that team, and then we have an option.” However, Licha [Lisandro Martinez] and Victor [Lindelof] worked effectively together in subsequent games.

“However, I believe Licha and Harry preserved a clean sheet and performed admirably against West Ham on Sunday, so that is a decision we must make. When I pick one, it is not one thing vs the other.”

Ten Hag is also dealing with an attack headache after Antony, Jadon Sancho, and Marcus Rashford did not go to face Real Sociedad in the Europa League in midweek. The manager of Manchester United is still waiting for word from club medics on whether he will be able to call on any of the three forwards.

“It’s impossible to say right now,” Ten Hag remarked of the trio’s physical condition. “I need to speak with the medical and performance teams because they did a program in Manchester.” I need to know how they’re doing and if they’ll be able to play on Sunday.”

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