Manchester United could well be without five players going into their clash with Barcelona on Thursday night. The two face off in the Europa League playoff round, with the first leg kicking off at 18:45 CEST at Camp Nou.
Lisandro Martinez and Marcel Sabitzer were a given beforehand, as both are suspended for the first leg. As per MEN (via CaughtOffside), Sabitzer did not train with the United squad, but Martinez did.
Sabitzer’s absence was one of four from Erik ten Hag’s final session before the match, with Antony, Antony Martial and Scott McTominay all absent from the preparatory session for the Barcelona tie. The Blaugrana are missing two of their own key players, and have called up youngsters Marc Casado and Angel Alarcon to fill their place in the squad.
The absent likely to be most keenly felt is that of Martinez, whose ball-playing ability could have been highly useful against Barcelona pressure. The Blaugrana will likely try to put the Red Devils under the cosh in the early stages of the match, pressing high and seeking an advantage.
