Carlos Baleba will make his first start for Manchester United when they take on Atletico Madrid at Estadio Metropolitano on Tuesday.

Manchester United will be desperate to return to winning ways and continue an impressive start to their UEFA Champions League campaign when they lock horns with Atletico Madrid at Estadio Metropolitano on Tuesday night. Michael Carrick has new injury concerns to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.

Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo have not travelled to Madrid after sustaining knocks in the Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur this past weekend. The duo has joined Tom Heaton (hamstring), Noussair Mazraoui (lower back), Patrick Dorgu (thigh), and Benjamin Sesko (calf) in the treatment room.

Additionally, Manuel Ugarte is a long-term absentee due to a knee injury that will force him to miss the 2026/27 season. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Carrick discussed the absence of Shaw and Mainoo while revealing that Matthijs de Ligt would be in the matchday squad on Tuesday.

The Manchester United head coach said, “They’ve not travelled, they both picked up issues in the game on Saturday [against Spurs] and we were working through that, to see what that looks like. At the moment, they are not ready for the game tomorrow.”

“We’re not light on numbers, no. Of course, we’ve got a couple of issues with some players missing out but we’re definitely not light on numbers. It’s good for Dan to be part of it and for younger players to sample it, the build-up to the game, and get a sense of it. It’s good to have Matta in and around it. We’ve had a little bit of patience with him, working through that and working hard to get to this stage. He’s had a long journey so we’re delighted to have him back.”

Senne Lammens is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Manchester United lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. The backline will feature Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, and Diogo Dalot, with the latter deputising for Shaw.

As for the midfield unit, Carlos Baleba will feature in the starting lineup for the first time, with Andrey Santos lining up alongside him in the middle of the park. Bruno Fernandes will reprise the no. 10 role, with Marcus Rashford and Bryan Mbeumo being the two wide attackers. Finally, Matheus Cunha will lead the line for the away side, with Amad Diallo and Joshua Zirkzee being backup options on the bench.

Predicted Manchester United XI: Lammens; Yoro, Maguire, Martinez, Dalot; Santos, Baleba; Mbeumo, Bruno Fernandes, Rashford; Cunha