Victor Lindelof will receive the first competitive start of his Manchester United career on Tuesday night in the Uefa Champions League group opener after manager Jose Mourinho revealed he will be paired alongside Chris Smalling against Basel.
Centrebacks Phil Jones and Eric Bailly are both unavailable with European bans meaning Jose Mourinho needs to shuffle his pack, meaning Lindelof and Chris Smalling will be given their chance at the heart of the United defence, as per the Express.
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Jones and Bailly have started all four Premier League games - in which Manchester United have conceded just twice, both against Stoke.
"He's (Jones) playing well for us," Mourinho said.
"He's probably tired with two consecutive matches with the national team so it's good that on Tuesday he gets his rest and it's an opportunity for Smalling and Lindelof to play the Champions League match."
So Smalling will come back into the fold and Lindelof will make his first start since the UEFA Super Cup.
Mourinho plans to ease him back into the fold with the Basel match the first chance for him to impress.
Lindelof, 23, moved to United from Benfica this summer for a reported £31m but is yet to feature in the Premier League, his only appearance coming in the 2-1 European Super Cup defeat to Real Madrid at the start of August.
Mourinho had said last month before the start of the season that the Sweden international was not yet ready for the Premier League, and said that the player needed time to settle down.
United lead the Premier League after four games despite dropping points for the first time against Stoke on Saturday.
The Red Devils were held to a 2-2 draw at Stoke City in their most recent Premier League outing away to Stoke on Saturday to end their perfect start to the season. The Old Trafford club are level on points with cross-town rivals Manchester City but lead the table on goal difference, as per the National.
The game at Old Trafford is United's first appearance in the Champions League since the 2015/16 season when they were eliminated at the Group Stage under former manager Louis Van Gaal, according to the Independent.
