Everything you need to know ahead of the Premier League clash at Old Trafford on Sunday
With no chance of qualifying for the Champions League following their 1-1 draw at Huddersfield Town last week, Manchester United will end their season on an anti-climactic note when Cardiff City visit Old Trafford on Sunday.
After the tumult of this season, many United fans will already be pining for next season to begin, but there is the small matter of attempting to secure a place in the Europa League group stage to deal with first.
A United win and anything other than victory for Arsenal at Burnley would see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side finish in fifth place and avoid an agonising wait to see whether they could end up playing in three qualifying rounds of the Europa League, beginning in July.
Antonio Valencia is in line to return for a send-off ahead of his summer departure. The club captain has missed the last 24 matches since playing at Newcastle in January.
Eric Bailly is out after the knee injury he sustained against Chelsea, and Romelu Lukaku is also likely to be absent due to the hamstring injury which kept him out of the trip to Huddersfield.
Alexis Sanchez looks set to miss out after sustaining an ankle injury at the John Smith’s Stadium.
United have no outstanding suspension concerns due to the FA’s late-season amnesty on yellow cards for any players with fewer than 15 bookings.
Solskjaer is set to name an experimental line-up after revealing on Friday morning that some of the club’s academy products will start against Cardiff.
“It might be the last game for some but it might be the start of some careers as well. We’ve had some young players knocking on the door all season really, and we’ll start with one or two of the kids as well.”
That could mean a full debut for 17-year-old Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year Mason Greenwood, while Reserve Team Player of the Year Tahith Chong could also play from the off.
Dylan Levitt, Angel Gomes, James Garner and Arnau Puigmal could also be in contention for a place in the squad after training with the senior squad this week.
Elsewhere, Valencia should slot in at right-back in his final United appearance while Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year Luke Shaw will be on the left.
Relegated Cardiff will be looking to leave the Premier League on a high in what could be Neil Warnock’s last game as a top-flight manager. The Bluebirds are unlikely to have any serious injury absences.
Kick-off is 3:00pm BST (10:00am ET) on Sunday, but the game will not be shown live in the United Kingdom due to the title challenge head-to-head between Manchester City and Liverpool elsewhere. It will be shown on NBCSN in the United States, and on various channels around the world.
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