The Red Devils are in seventh place, six points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, while Norwich are in last place, seven points behind 17th-placed Everton, who have a game in hand.
Team News
Manchester United
- Man United will be missing Edinson Cavani and Luke Shaw for the second consecutive match due to injury, while Mason Greenwood remains suspended.
- The fitness of Raphael Varane, Fred, and Scott McTominay is also a concern for the hosts. It appears that all three could miss out, so Victor Lindelof, Nemanja Matic, and Paul Pogba will start.
- In Shaw’s absence, Alex Telles will stay at left-back, but there could be a change at right-back, with Diogo Dalot replacing Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Anthony Elanga replacing Marcus Rashford.
- Ronaldo received a severe gash to his shin in the defeat to Everton last Saturday, but he has trained this week and is ready to lead the line for the home side.
Norwich City
- Injuries have ruled out Adam Idah, Ozan Kabak, and Andrew Omobamidele for Norwich, while Brandon Williams is ineligible to play against his parent club.
- Billy Gilmour, Josh Sargent, and Przemyslaw Placheta are all doubts for the visitors, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Smith named an unchanged starting lineup from the one that faced Burnley.
- However, after returning from injury, Max Aarons was on the bench against Burnley, so the 22-year-old might return to right-back, but Pukki should continue to lead the line, with Pierre Lees Melou, Milot Rashica, and Kieran Dowell providing assistance.
Prediction Analysis
Man United do not often keep clean sheets, but Norwich have struggled for goals this season, and we can see the Red Devils producing a rare shutout in this game; Rangnick’s side should then have enough quality down the other end of the field to score a couple of goals to collect a crucial three points.
Our prediction is Manchester United 2-0 Norwich City.
Possible Lineup
Manchester United: Matic, Pogba; Elanga, Fernandes, Sancho; Ronaldo, De Gea; Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire, Telles;
Norwich City: Krul; Aarons, Hanley, Gibson, Giannoulis; McLean, Normann; Dowell, Lees Melou, Rashica; Pukki