On Oct. 13 in Madrid, Lisandro Martínez said, "I expect more from our technical director." Wednesday at Como is the bill for that. United can't afford to lose this one in the Champions League, and the back line is whoever's left.
Think he was wrong to say it out loud, if you like. He has since apologized (ESPN, from PA). The squad he was complaining about is still the one Michael Carrick takes to Italy, and right now it can't put together a normal back four.
The details:
- Wednesday, Oct. 21, 12:45 p.m. ET (9:45 a.m. PT), at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, Como
- Champions League, league phase, matchday 3 (full schedule)
- US TV: Paramount+
- League phase: Como 12th (3 pts, W1 L1), United 13th (3 pts, W1 L1) (the table)
- Form, last five in all competitions, oldest first: Como W L D L W; United L D D L D
For once it's a lunch-break kickoff in the East and a mid-morning one out West.
Four signings, no defenders
Our own squad data backs Martínez up: United signed four players this summer, and none of them is a defender. Karl Darlow is the backup goalkeeper, and Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba are midfielders.
That's what he was getting at after the 2-0 loss at Atlético. "I expect more [investment], 100%. I expect more from our technical director," he said, per the Guardian's Sid Lowe, whose report names that technical director as Jason Wilcox, the director of football. Put it on him or on the budget the owners hand him. Either way the cost lands on Carrick's team sheet, and the defense that was thin in Madrid is thinner now.
Who's missing
ESPN's Tuesday report, from PA, has Martínez and Marcus Rashford missing training at Carrington. Martínez came off at half-time at Leeds with a thigh complaint. United confirmed Rashford is "managing an injury issue," per ESPN/PA, and Carrick had already told MUTV before Leeds, "Marcus has been carrying a little bit of something so we're managing him to a point" (on the club site).
Ayden Heaven, Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo missed training too. Benjamin Sesko, Patrick Dorgu and Manuel Ugarte are injured. Leny Yoro is suspended after his 74th-minute red card in Madrid, given after a VAR review for a foul as the last man. Al Jazeera's AFP report called it harsh.
Then there's Matthijs de Ligt, who is "back in training but has not yet featured following back surgery" (ESPN/PA). Our data has him on zero appearances this season.
Who we'd start at the back
Harry Maguire is the one certainty. He has played all 630 of our Premier League minutes this season, and he starts.
The spot next to him has three candidates, and none of them is comfortable. Noussair Mazraoui came on for Martínez at Leeds and "slotted in at centre-back," as the club site put it. De Ligt hasn't played. Harry Amass is 19, with one appearance this season, off the bench in the Champions League.
We'd start de Ligt.
Moving Mazraoui inside fixes one hole by opening another. With Shaw and Dorgu out, the full-back spots are as thin as the middle, and the gap would fall to Amass. That's two players learning on the job in a Champions League away match. Put de Ligt next to Maguire, keep Mazraoui at right-back and Diogo Dalot at left-back, where ESPN's team sheet had him at Leeds, and only one man is out of rhythm: a center-back, playing center-back.
Starting a player cold after back surgery is a risk. It's a smaller one than reshuffling two positions on the night, and a man who's back in training is closer to ready than a 19-year-old with one substitute appearance is to a Champions League start. If Martínez is fit after all, he plays and this argument shrinks to nothing. We'd still want de Ligt on the bench.
Como will test it
Cesc Fàbregas's Como put four past RB Leipzig on matchday 1, then scored two more in a 3-2 loss at Feyenoord. That's six goals in two Champions League matches. They're fifth in Serie A (ESPN), five points behind leaders Inter (beIN Sports), after winning 3-1 at Fiorentina on Sunday.
Fàbregas is enjoying it. "For us, it's a dream come true; we'll take our chances," he said, via beIN, which also notes that he and Carrick played against each other in the 2008-09 Champions League semifinals. Sports Mole says Assane Diao is out for Como, and Trevoh Chalobah and Moise Kean need fitness checks.
We arrive without a win in six in all competitions, the last one 4-0 over Sabah at Old Trafford on Sep. 10. In the Premier League we're 13th on 7 points from seven (the table). Lose here and it's three points from three matches in the league phase.
The projection is already out of date
Sports Mole's projected lineups, below, went up on Monday evening, UK time, before Tuesday's training news. They still start Martínez next to Maguire, with Mazraoui in for Yoro. A day later Martínez missed training, so the best guess on the board already has a hole in it. The real team sheets are due about an hour before kickoff.
Lineups
Projected lineups
What other outlets predict. The official team sheets go up here about an hour before kickoff.
Read
| No. | Player |
|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | |
| 1 | Senne Lammens |
| Defense | |
| 3 | Noussair Mazraoui |
| 5 | Harry Maguire |
| 6 | Lisandro Martínez |
| 2 | Diogo Dalot |
| Midfield | |
| 17 | Andrey Santos |
| 20 | Carlos Baleba |
| 16 | Amad Diallo |
| 18 | Youri Tielemans |
| 8 | Bruno Fernandes |
| Attack | |
| 19 | Bryan Mbeumo |
Out or doubtful: Leny Yoro (suspended), Manuel Ugarte (out), Patrick Dorgu (out), Benjamin Sesko (out), Ayden Heaven (to be assessed), Kobbie Mainoo (to be assessed), Lisandro Martínez (to be assessed), Luke Shaw (to be assessed)
| Player |
|---|
| Goalkeeper |
| Butez |
| Defense |
| Couto |
| Chalobah |
| Ramon |
| Valle |
| Midfield |
| Milla |
| Da Cunha |
| J Rodriguez |
| Paz |
| Baturina |
| Attack |
| Douvikas |
Our pick: Como 2-1 United
Sports Mole has United winning 2-1. We don't see it. Our only clean sheet in a competitive match this season came against Sabah, and Como have scored in both of their Champions League matches. A back four with one center-back who has played every league minute and one who hasn't played at all is going to concede, and two feels right. We'll say Bruno Fernandes gets one back. That's our call, and the recap will grade it.
What would make us wrong: de Ligt. If he plays like the time off never happened and Maguire wins everything in the air, the defense holds long enough for Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo to win it. A fit Martínez would change the math too.
Alarm's set. Coffee's on. Come on, United.
Sources: ESPN (team news, from PA, Como results, Leeds team sheet); Manchester United (Carrick's updates on Heaven, Martínez and Rashford); the Guardian (Sid Lowe); Al Jazeera (AFP); beIN Sports; Sports Mole. Numbers from our schedule, table and squad data.