How Manchester United could line up against Real Sociedad

• Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to name a makeshift starting lineup when Manchester United face Real Sociedad on Thursday
• Four first leg goals without a reply mean that the Red Devils already have one foot in the next round
• With regular first-team players sitting on the bench, the likes of Alex Telles and Brandon Williams might get game time

Here’s how we expect Manchester United to line up against Real Sociedad on Thursday:

Defense

Brandon Williams, who has fallen down the pecking order due to the excellent form of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, is expected to start against Sociedad. The youngster will be a part of a four-man defense, whose other three members are likely to be Axel Tuanzebe, Eric Bailly and Alex Telles.

Both Bailly and Telles will be hoping that their performances on Thursday would convince Solskjaer to give them more regular game time. Bailly, in particular, stands a chance of starting on the weekend if he could produce an excellent display on Thursday.

Man Utd injury news (defense): Phil Jones (ruled out)

Midfield

With Paul Pogba still out injured and both Scott McTominay and Donny van de Beek injury doubts, Solskjaer has little option but to stick with the midfield duo of Fred and Nemanja Matic when picking his starting XI vs Sociedad.

Both of them have started more than 25 games between them in all competitions this season. Their presence in midfield would thus inspire confidence into the back four that has never started as a unit in any game across any competition in the past.

Man Utd injury news (midfield): Paul Pogba (ruled out), Donny van de Beek (doubtful), Scott McTominay (doubtful)

Attack

One area where Manchester United’s team might look similar to the one that demolished Sociedad last week is the attack. With Van De Beek out injured, Marcus Rashford might start the game on the left side of the attacking four, with Mason Greenwood playing as the sole striker.

The remaining two positions, behind Greenwood and on the right side, are expected to be occupied by Juan Mata and the in-form Daniel James. The Welshman has 3 goals in his last three starts and won’t mind getting another one on Thursday.

Man Utd injury news (attack): Edinson Cavani (doubtful)

Possible Manchester United starting XI Vs Real Sociedad: Henderson; Williams, Tuanzebe, Bailly, Telles; Fred, Matic; James, Mata, Rashford; Greenwood