Erik ten Hag is approaching his first serious team selection dilemma as Manchester United manager.
The Red Devils kick off the 2022/23 Premier League campaign with a home game against Brighton & Hove Albion, and Ten Hag has a lot to ponder after a pre-season that saw him give minutes to 34 players.
Only 11 of those will be able to start against the Seagulls of course, and he’s likely to have several difficult decisions to make after a largely positive pre-season.
United won their first three matches of the summer - against Liverpool, Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace - but failed to win the subsequent three, which included a weaker XI that drew with Rayo Vallecano last Sunday, while they also drew with Aston Villa and lost to Atletico Madrid in Norway.
It’s not just picking the strongest side that will influence Ten Hag when choosing his first starting XI, he’ll also have to factor in which players are suited to facing Brighton, as well as who looks fittest after the six warm-up matches.
Thankfully, however, the Dutchman has few injuries to contend with, a luxury not afforded to Ralf Rangnick when choosing his teams at the end of last season.
But there have been a few players Ten Hag has been unable to select over pre-season for various reasons, and we’ve got the latest on nine players and whether they’ll be available to start at the weekend...
1. Christian Eriksen- fitness
Played the final two games of pre-season but probably doesn’t have the required minutes to start against the Seagulls.
2. Lisandro Martinez- fitness
Similar to Eriksen and Garner, the defender hasn’t had the chance to get game-time under his belt this summer, and will probably be on the bench.
3. Anthony Martial- hamstring
As per reports in the Athletic, the attacker is set to miss the clash with Brighton due a minor hamstring injury.
4. Scott McTominay- knock
Missed the draw with Villa due to a knock but returned last weekend as United lost to Atletico. The midfielder is expected to partner Fred in centre.