Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick seems set to be without three key players for Friday night’s FA Cup showdown with Middlesbrough. The Red Devils go into the game looking to make the 5th round of the competition. It’s the first time the two teams have met since 2017, back when Jose Mourinho was manager.
United beat Aston Villa 1-0 in their last FA Cup clash, with Scott McTominay scoring the only goal of the game.
And, now, the Manchester Evening News have published the Red Devils’ squad for tonight’s showdown with Middlesbrough.
United appear to be without Victor Lindelof, who has spent some time back in Sweden following a traumatic break-in at his family home and has recently fallen ill.
They’re also missing Edinson Cavani and Jesse Lingard, with Rangnick saying on Friday the pair had both asked for some time off.
And Eric Bailly has missed the match as well.
Rangnick confirmed on Friday the four players wouldn’t be involved, saying: “Edi Cavani will only return on the weekend.
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Man Utd are primed to be without Lingard and Cavani for Middlesbrough clash (Image: GETTY)
Centre-backs Harry Maguire, Phil Jones and Raphael Varane are part of the squad.
In midfield, United have taken Nemanja Matic, Scott McTominay, Bruno Fernandes, Fred, Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and Hannibal Mejbri.
And the club’s attacking options include Jadon Sancho, Anthony Elanga, Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford.
United’s match against Middlesbrough is their first of seven games scheduled to be played in February.
And Rangnick believes the match will be ‘important’, saying: “Like the games in the past have been and, yes, with the last two wins, especially with the performance and last-second win against West Ham, I think it has raised the levels of confidence in everybody, the whole group.
“I still remember the scenes and atmosphere in the locker room 10 minutes after the game.
Man Utd won't have Lindelof and De Gea involved in Middlesbrough clash (Image: GETTY)
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“It was an enormously important win for everybody, not only for the win but the performance we showed was, so far, the best we have played.
“Yes, we have to keep it going now and build upon that to be as successful as we can be.
“Hopefully, we’ll progress into the next round of the FA Cup and the next important game is then coming up on Tuesday [at Burnley].”
He did admit, however, that he wasn’t yet satisfied with his work at United.
“As a manager, as a head coach, you can never be satisfied,” he said.
“The results have been good and now it’s about developing as a team and the better we play, the more control we get on games, the more likely will it be to get results in the next weeks.”