Is Cristiano Ronaldo playing for Manchester United against Leicester City tonight?
Cristiano Ronaldo could feature for Manchester United when they travel to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City on Thursday, September 1 in the Premier League.
It is, however, not certain whether the five-time Ballon d'Or winner will start in attack for the Red Devils. United manager Erik ten Hag has started Ronaldo just once in four Premier League games so far this season.
Ten Hag has preferred to go with a pacy and energetic attack in all of the games he has been in charge of. The Dutch tactician has played with an attacking trio of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga for the last couple of games.
Manchester United have won both of those games and Ten Hag thus has no reason to change the winning formula. Cristiano Ronaldo has come off the bench on all occasions. The forward, however, has had little to no impact on the proceedings.
If Ten Hag does decide to start Ronaldo, he would replace Anthony Elanga in the starting XI. The Portuguese forward could start up front with Marcus Rashford shifting on the left wing.
Training for the game against Leicester City on Thursday:
CRISTIANO RONALDO. https://t.co/BSk9iZIbdS
There is also a small matter of the game being played on transfer deadline day. According to The Sun, Cristiano Ronaldo could not be in the squad as he is still searching for a move away from Manchester United.
Ten Hag, however, has once again confirmed that Ronaldo will be staying at Old Trafford for the 2022-23 season. He was quoted as saying the following (via Fabrizio Romano on Twitter):
“From the start we said we planned with Cristiano, it was clear. We are on the same page with him. We are happy with him, he’s happy to be here and we want to make the season a success together.”
How did Cristiano Ronaldo perform for Manchester United when they faced Leicester last season?
Cristiano Ronaldo did not have a great outing the last time he faced Leicester City in the Premier League.
Ronaldo was part of the Manchester United team which suffered a 4-2 defeat to the Foxes at the King Power Stadium last season. The former Real Madrid and Juventus forward did not make a goalscoring contribution.
Last season saw City come out as 4-2 winners over Manchester United.
leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football…
Ronaldo did not take part in the return fixture at Old Trafford as he was suffering from the flu. Manchester United went on to secure a 1-1 draw on that occasion with Kelechi Iheanacho and Fred scoring the goals.