Amorim faces big problem after fresh injury, could be forced to start 4/10 Man Utd ace vs Athletic

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim faces a big dilemma ahead of the Europa League semi-finals second leg against Athletic Bilbao.

Matthijs de Ligt started in the 4-3 defeat to Brentford on Sunday but had to be taken off due to an injury around the half-hour mark.

He hobbled off the pitch, leaving United fans and the head coach concerned.

De Ligt was in line to start against Athletic, but his potential absence could force Amorim to turn to Luke Shaw for a place in the back three.

Shaw was the worst United performer against the Bees, getting a 4/10 rating in our post-match analysis.

The England international made only one tackle and lost two of his three duels.

Renowned for his ball-playing ability, Shaw’s distribution was surprisingly poor on the day.

He achieved a passing accuracy of only 79% and compounded his woes with an unfortunate own goal that levelled the score for Brentford in the first half.

A moment of miscommunication between Shaw and goalkeeper Altay Bayindir early in the game almost gifted Brentford another calamitous own goal.

Harry Maguire and Leny Yoro are expected to start in the mid-week.

Amorim has to choose between Victor Lindelof and Shaw to partner them in the back three.

Lindelof was given the nod in the right centre-back spot in Spain last week.

He gave away possession cheaply to Nico Williams in a dangerous area.

Casemiro had to step in with an intervention to ensure that United didn’t concede from his mistake.

We believe Shaw is a more reliable defender and should start in the left centre-back position.

Amorim has previously praised the 29-year-old for having a “lot of quality“, and now Shaw must repay the faith of his manager when it matters most.

Stats from FotMob.com

Article written by Sanidhya Bhardwaj .