Edinson Cavani looks set to sit out another Manchester United game as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer doesn’t want to risk the forward against Sheffield United.
The striker was brought off during the comeback win against West Ham and subsequently missed both the Champions League defeat in Leipzig and the Manchester derby at the weekend.
In his 10 appearances, of which he has only started three times, he has managed three goals and an assist and has already proven his killer instinct in front of goal.
However, Solskjaer looks set to be without him for the third game in a row as he continues to step up his recovery ahead of a busy festive fixture schedule.
“We have to be mindful of little strains and niggles and decisions have to be made from kick-off of Sheffield United to kick-off against Aston Villa. It’s 15 times 24 hours, so it’s going to be very tight,” Solskjaer said about the amount of games lined up in just over a two-week period.
“Edinson has done well in rehab, but I still have to make the decision if we should risk him. It’s a little bit [dangerous] to risk him too early, so I’d doubt he will be available to pick tomorrow.”
Even without Cavani, Solskjaer has a strong squad to pick from ahead of Thursday night’s trip to Bramall Lane and it is likely he will go with his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation.
The United manager came under scrutiny after his side’s Champions League exit last week for changing his system too often, but the Norwegian seemed to refute those claims on Wednesday afternoon.
“What was the change in formation [against Manchester City]? It was a 4-2-3-1 and coming into that pocket is probably Paul [Pogba]’s favourite position,” Solskjaer responded when it was put to him that his players have to keep adapting to the team’s changing shape.
“Paul did well, the team’s shape was as it normally is. Twice we have played three at the back – we beat PSG and unfortunately lost to Leipzig.
“We played a full game with a diamond and two half-games with a diamond, so that’s four out of 22 games. [That] isn’t bad for consistency of a normal shape, some details change.
“Sometimes we look at the opposition and where we need players with different qualities and the players are coping well with it.”
