Manchester United have the chance to seal their place in the knockout stages of the Europa League when they travel to Astana on Thursday.
The Red Devils only managed a 1-0 win when the pair met at Old Trafford earlier this season, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision to send a squad consisting primarily of academy players could see the Kazakhstani side claim a shock result.
Manchester United are two points clear at the top of the group with four games played and a win in Kazakhstan would secure their place in the next round.
Solskjaer’s side were held to a 3-3 draw by Sheffield United in their last game as their poor Premier League form continues – the result sees them slip to ninth in the table.
United’s form outside the Premier League is much stronger, with three wins and a draw from their first four Europa League games, including four successive clean sheets.
However, the Red Devils required a second-half winner from teenage striker Mason Greenwood to settle the contest in their last encounter with Astana, and will be fielding a very inexperienced lineup on Thursday.
A clutch of senior players including Jesse Lingard, Luke Shaw, Lee Grant and Axel Tuanzebe have been included on the plane to Kazakhstan, but Grant has yet to play a senior minute this term and defenders Shaw and Tuanzebe are still working their way back from injury.
Should they fail to beat Astana, their final group game is against second-placed AZ Alkmaar, and victory in that contest would still be enough to send them through as group winners.
Astana claimed their sixth league title in a row earlier this month, amassing 69 points to finish top of the division by a point.
However, their European exploits have been less than successful, losing all four of their Europa League group games so far and scoring just one goal in the process, while conceding 14.
The Group L minnows are no longer able to progress, but facing such an inexperienced side provides an opportunity to salvage some pride and record a historic result.
Astana form: LWWWLL
Manchester United form: WWLWWD
Solskjaer has a lengthy injury list to contend with, which could explain his decision to protect his senior stars and send academy players to face Astana.
Marcos Rojo, Eric Bailly, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Diogo Dalot, Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba are among those who have been ruled out, leaving the Norwegian with few options to work with as he attempts to arrest their Premier League slide.
As a result, Lingard, Shaw and Tuanzebe are the only three first team players to be included who have played this term, with the latter two taking the opportunity to take in some competitive minutes as they work their way back from injury.
A number of players will be making their debuts, while the likes of Greenwood, Tahith Chong and James Garner will be given further chances to impress.
For Astana, only striker Firmin Mubele is unavailable due to a knee injury sustained at the back end of September.
Astana possible starting lineup:
Eric; Rukavina, Postnikov, Logvinenko, Shomko; Beisebekov, Pertsukh, Mayewski, Rotariu; Tomasov, Khizhnichenko
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Grant; Laird, Tuanzebe, Bernard, Shaw; Garner, Levitt; Chong, Lingard, Gomes; Greenwood.
The other games to be played
Thursday, 28-11-2019 @6:50pm
-Krasnodar vs Basel
-Trabzonspor vs Getafe
Thursday, 28-11-2019 @8:55pm
-Young Boys vs Porto
-Feyenoord vs Rangers
-Saint Etienne vs Gent
-Oleksandria vs Wolfsburg
-Ferencvaros vs Espanyol
-CSKA Moscow vs Ludogorets
-Istanbul BB vs Roma
-Wolfsburger vs Gladbach
-Besiktas vs Slovan Bratislava
-Braga vs Wolves
-AZ vs Partizan
Thursday, 28-11-2019 @11pm
-Lazio vs CFR Cluj
-Celtic vs Rennes
-Vitoria Guimaraes vs Standard Liege
-Sevilla vs Qarabag
-Dudelange vs APOEL
-Malmo vs Dynamo Kiev
-Lugano vs Copenhagen
-Sporting Lisbon vs PSG
-Rosenberg vs LASK
