What lineup will Man Utd field in the opening match against Leicester?

Manchester United may have to start the new season without some of the players who attended the recent World Cup, manager Jose Mourinho said.

The 12 players participating in the tournament in Russia include: Nemanja Matic, Marcos Rojo, David de Gea, Fred, Victor Lindelof, Marouane Fellaini, Romelu Lukaku, Ashley Young, Phil Jones, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford and "champion" Paul Pogba.

Each of the aforementioned players will be granted three weeks of rest by the club upon their return from Russia.

Paul Pogba is the one who needs the most rest in the MU squad after winning the World Cup with France.

However, that is just the plan and in reality things will be very different. Man United have recently added 7 young players to the club's summer tour while their manager - Jose Mourinho is planning for the club to complete the first game of the season without the presence of top players.

"We cannot start the Premier League with all our players who have been focused on the World Cup. That is a pity for the club's most important goal in Europe." - he said on RT.

"I think 3 weeks is the minimum for their body and mind to recover. It is also the minimum time for them to get used to and gradually return to football.."

"It's okay to force them back before that, like 'OK, I have you for the first game of the season, but I might lose you for the next three or four months'."

"I think 3 weeks is the minimum they need. That also means they won't be back in time for the start of the Premier League."

Mourinho will have a headache helping MU find the best solution in the opening match when so many key players are absent.

Luckily for MU, things may not be as serious as Mourinho said.

Indeed, Nemanja Matic is the first Red Devils player to be eliminated (from the group stage) and he could be back in time to join his teammates in the US later this month. The Serbian has started working with his personal trainer again and should be fit enough to play.

Next, those who have to "go home" a little later are De Gea and Marcos Rojo. Both have to stop in the round of 16 and like Matic, they will fly to the US with the team to be able to regain the best feeling of the ball with 5 summer friendlies.

It's been a disappointing summer for De Gea but he'll hopefully bounce back after returning to training with United.

Things get a little more complicated, especially for teams that have already reached the quarter-finals or semi-finals. Fred and Victor Lindelof still have at least a week to rest and it will be difficult to get them back in time for the club's summer tour.

Both are expected to be able to return at the earliest in the match against Bayern Munich on August 5 at the Allianz Arena.

One thing to note is that, like the case of Henrikh Mkhitaryan or Lindelof - who moved to the club with a huge transfer fee, Mourinho will definitely want to introduce them to the harsh Premier League arena slowly and deliberately.

That means if he can only play one pre-season match, the Portuguese coach will not dare to risk sending Fred onto the field in the opening match.

Newcomer Fred will not be able to debut for MU fans in the first match.

The remaining 7 players have to participate in the last 2 matches (participating in the squads of Belgium, England and France). Their vacation seems to have just begun and therefore, all of them will not be able to participate in the first round of the Premier League season 2018/2019.

After all,Manchester United's starting lineup for the opening matchExpected to include: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Bailly, Shaw; Matic, Herrera, McTominay; Mata, Martial, Sanchez.