Mazraoui among them: major threat looms over United against Atletico
Carrick in a difficult position!
Uncertainty surrounds the situation of a number of Manchester United players regarding their participation in the upcoming Champions League match against Atletico Madrid, after they missed training.
Michael Carrick's side have not won any of their last four Premier League matches. Their most recent victory came against Azerbaijan's Sabah in their opening game of the Champions League league phase, a 4-0 win.
Last Saturday brought another setback, a 1-1 draw against Tottenham at Old Trafford. Spurs finished with ten men after Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off, yet still levelled in the 90+2nd minute.
Sky Sports report that doubt hangs over the Manchester United pair Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo ahead of the meeting with Atletico Madrid.
Both players missed training at Carrington before the team's trip to Spain to face Los Rojiblancos. United must now decide whether the two travel to the Spanish capital.
Benjamin Sesko, Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui will also miss the Atletico Madrid match, joining long-term absentee Manuel Ugarte.
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Sky Sports noted that Matthijs de Ligt took part in a training session on Monday, as the Dutch defender continues his rehabilitation programme to recover from a back injury that has kept him out of action since last November.
Major danger threatens United against Atletico
Sky Sports reporter Danyal Khan weighed in on United's absences ahead of the Atletico fixture, writing on X: "The situation is not good for Manchester United, with Luke Shaw, Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui missing training this morning."
He explained: "Given the areas where Atletico Madrid prefer to attack, United's left flank could be in great danger," stressing that "the burden will be heavy on Rashford or Cunha to help whoever plays at left-back tomorrow (Tuesday)", drawing on a statistic from the WhoScored website which illustrates the point he made and the percentages of Atletico's attacks through the centre or the flanks.
Carlos Baleba is pushing for his first start for United. The Cameroonian, signed in the summer for 70 million pounds sterling from Brighton, made his first appearance against Tottenham on Saturday.
Defender Leny Yoro is scheduled to join manager Michael Carrick at the press conference to be held at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Madrid this evening.
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