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3 replacements for Paul Pogba to face Everton on Sunday

Manchester United will be without Paul Pogba for Sunday’s Premier League game against Everton.

The French international picked up a hamstring injury in our 3-0 thrashing of FC Basel in the Champions League last night.

Pogba was replaced by Maruoane Fellaini on 19 minutes in the centre of midfield.  The Belgian went on to score the opening goal and was a candidate for man of the match.

Speaking after the game, Jose Mourinho expects Pogba to be out for “a few weeks”.

This would rule out Pogba making an appearance versus Everton on Sunday.  We also host Burton Albion in the EFL Cup next Wednesday, before travelling to Southampton in the Premier League on the 23rd, then to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League on Wednesday 27th and finishing the month at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday 30 September before the international break.

The extent of Pogba’s injury has yet to be confirmed as he awaits tests.

With an important Premier League match this match against an Everton side who had started the season fairly well before their were hammered 3-0 at home by Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, Mourinho has a tough job in replacing Pogba.

The 24-year-old has been one of our top players so far this season, alongside Nemanja Matic in a 4-2-3-1 formation for three of our four Premier League matches.

Pogba has floated forward with freedom, scoring two goals and assisting Marcus Rashford’s equaliser at Stoke City over the weekend.  None of the three replacement options that are available to the boss can do that but they can all compliment the team in some way.  They are:

1. Marouane Fellaini

The Belgian international has made four substitute appearances this season and we’ve won all four games, scored in each of them during his time on the pitch and kept a clean sheet on each occasion.  Marouane Fellaini did not make an appearance in our 2-2 draw at Stoke.  Not only that, the 29-year-old was at his best on Tuesday which alone may merit a place in the starting lineup versus his former club.  Fellaini brings a great aerial threat to the attack and another tall body to help defend set pieces.

2. Ander Herrera

Ander Herrera has been one of our top players over the past two seasons but has been really restricted in his game time to start the new season; just 77 minutes across two Premier League appearances so far (1 start, 1 substitute).  Like Fellaini, the Spaniard loves to get stuck into challenges whilst not being the best at them.  He offers a much better ground game than Fellaini which would help support the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Marcus Rashford, Juan Mata and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in attack.

3. Michael Carrick

The 36-year-old is yet to play a single minute for us so far this season and has only been named among the substitutes in our UEFA Super Cup and Champions League matches.  Michael Carrick brings a more defensive approach than the two options above as well as a controlled game.  He doesn’t have very much attacking threat though, and versus an Everton side that haven’t looked great in attack in their opening four Premier League games (2 goals) this may be a too defensive a choice from the manager.

Who do you want to start alongside Nemanja Matic against Everton?  Leave your selection in the comment box below: