Manchester United stars were photographed arriving at Carrington ahead of their cup clash with Tranmere this afternoon. The Red Devils do not usually congregate at the club’s training base on matchday but have diverted from their traditional pre-game routine against the League One outfit.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his men will travel to Prenton Park where they will take on Tranmere this afternoon, looking to bounce back from consecutive defeats.
And the proximity of today’s opponents means United have not carried out their usual pre-match preparation.
Instead of staying in a hotel the night before an away match, the Red Devils have decided to travel straight to the ground from their training complex.
The journey should take less than an hour, although United have fallen victim to matchday traffic in the past – most notably when former boss Jose Mourinho walked to Old Trafford alongside supporters.
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Phil Jones is another option for Solskjaer, with the versatile defender easy to spot in his yellow Lamborghini.
It remains to be seen whether David De Gea, Sergio Romero or Lee Grant will start in goal against Rovers, with all three stoppers spotted this morning.
Diogo Dalot was also seen arriving and will hope to deputise for Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right-back while Luke Shaw is in contention to replace Brandon Williams on the opposite flank.
Nemanja Matic, Daniel James and Jesse Lingard were other members of the squad seen reporting for duty while Juan Mata and Andreas Pereira will also be in the squad.
Youngsters Mason Greenwood, Angel Gomes and Tahith Chong are expected to be involved but were not pictured arriving at the rear entrance.
Harry Maguire and Fred are also likely to feature at some point this afternoon, although United remain without a host of players due to injury.
Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay remain sidelined while Marcus Rashford is also out as the England international continues his recovery from a double stress fracture to his lower back.
Axel Tuanzebe, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Marcos Rojo complete the injury list, with all three defenders unavailable today.
Rashford was seen driving to training on Saturday morning for the first time since suffering his injury against Wolves in the previous round, although he is still likely to be out for two months.
Solskjaer was heavily criticised for calling upon the 22-year-old during the third-round replay, who was reportedly already struggling with fitness issues before the match.
“Marcus is going to get as long as he needs,” said the Red Devils boss when asked about Ashford’s recovery.
“We are not going to risk him when he has had an injury. When he comes back he will be 100 per cent fit.”
Provisional Manchester United squad to face Tranmere Rovers: De Gea, Grant, Romero, Bailly, Dalot, Jones, Lindelof, Shaw, Matic, James, Lingard, Mata, Pereira, Martial – Maguire, Wan-Bissaka, Fred, Chong, Gomes, Greenwood (not pictured)
