Community shield
Manchester United kicked their 2024-25 campaign off with defeat on Saturday as they went down to Manchester City on penalties in the Community Shield. United had been in pole position to win the season's traditional curtain-raiser twice - once in normal time, when Alejandro Garnacho's virtuoso effort handed them the lead in the closing stages, and again in the shoot-out, when Bernardo Silva missed City's second penalty to hand the Red Devils the initiative.
Despite the end result, Erik ten Hag will have taken plenty of encouragement from his team's performance after a 2023-24 season that saw United face plenty of criticism for their style of play and overall poor showing in the Premier League and in Europe. United will aim to replicate their good performance when their top-flight campaign gets under way against Fulham on Friday, and here is how GIVEMESPORT thinks Ten Hag should line his side up at Old Trafford.
Goalkeeper and defence
Onana; Dalot, De Ligt, Martinez, Shaw
Andre Onana's distraction technique in penalty shoot-outs has garnered plenty of attention in pre-season and he is clearly feeling confident heading into the new campaign. The Cameroonian told United's supporters to expect him to take plenty of risks this season but the vast majority of fans would settle for him not making a series of calamitous errors.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka's impending departure suggests Diogo Dalot will be United's first-choice right-back this season, while at centre-back two former Ajax defenders could be paired alongside each other. Lisandro Martinez joined Ajax in the same summer that Matthijs de Ligt departed for Juventus, and they are set to become teammates in the coming days, with De Ligt on his way to Old Trafford from Bayern Munich.
Luke Shaw was not deemed to be ready to figure in the Community Shield after an injury-ravaged year, and if he is not fit to face Fulham, Martinez may move over to left-back, with Harry Maguire partnering De Ligt in the centre.
Midfield
Casemiro, Mainoo, Mount
Casemiro looked leaner and sharper against City and delivered a solid, if not faultless, performance. The Brazilian gave the ball away cheaply in his own half on a number of occasions but passed progressively further up the pitch and will expect to start against Fulham given United have not recruited a new holding midfielder.
At this stage, Kobbie Mainoo is undroppable for United, while Mason Mount will also expect to start in midfield, given Bruno Fernandes is likely to be deployed as a false nine, with Rasmus Hojlund injured and Joshua Zirkzee yet to feature for his new club.
Attack
Amad, Garnacho, Fernandes
Marcus Rashford was given the nod against City but Alejandro Garnacho should come back into the team in place of the England forward when United's Premier League campaign kicks off. No outfield player made more appearances for United last season than Garnacho and the Argentine underlined his importance to Ten Hag's team with his brilliant individual effort at Wembley.
Starting Amad over Rashford would be a bold call but it's a call that has merit. Amad looked lively towards the back end of last season and posed problems for City with a bright performance in the Community Shield. It feels like a make-or-break season for the Ivorian and he deserves to be given a chance to prove his quality.
For Mila Pulse Sport
Dan.
