It is Mata’s first Premier League start of the campaign, and only his third in any competition, but United interim boss Ralf Rangnick insists our No 8 deserves the selection.
“He was very good in training and when he came on against Chelsea, for the last 15 minutes, he also showed a good performance. He just deserved to be in the team,” Ralf told MUTV.
Mata will also take up a spot the middle of the engine room, with captain Bruno Fernandes switched wide.
“I decided to play him in the centre of midfield and Bruno a little more from the left so that is how we’re going to approach the game,” added the German.