Man Utd predicted XI vs Real Betis: Erik ten Hag to drop first-team regular

Erik ten Hag will demand a vastly improved performance from his Manchester United side on Thursday against Real Betis, compared to the shambolic display the Red Devils put in at Anfield.

United were beaten 7-0 by Liverpool on Sunday in a performance Ten Hag labelled as ‘unprofessional’, although speaking ahead of Thursday’s Europa League last-16 encounter, the Dutchman said he’s been pleased with the response from his team. “I think they reflected well, we know, but we also know in a season setbacks will always be there,” he said in Wednesday’s press conference.

“This was a huge setback, that’s clear, but when you had a run, 23 games with one loss, that was the second, of course the way it was has a lot of lessons in it and that can help us for the future. That’s the positive out of it. Now all the energy, all the focus has to be on the next game.”

Normally after such a high-profile defeat, managers would tend to make wholesale changes, however, that’s unlikely to be the case after Ten Hag pointed to the team’s impressive run prior to Sunday’s horrendous performance.

Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw and Casemiro were well below their usual standards, although the quartet have been the driving force behind United’s upswing in form since the World Cup.

But we are tipping Ten Hag to drop Diogo Dalot and Wout Weghorst for the clash with Betis. The duo have struggled in recent games and Dalot had to be replaced at half-time in the recent Carabao Cup final victory.

Meanwhile, Weghorst has started all of the last 14 matches but has netted just once in that time. Often, United look more potent with Marcus Rashford through the middle and that could be how the team set up on Thursday. Here’s how we think the starting XI will look…