Manchester United v Ipswich: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info

Manchester United vs. Ipswich Town was once a stalwart fixture in top-flight English football. From the late-1960s to the mid-1980s, the Suffolk club were regular visitors to Old Trafford. 

Since then, the Tractor Boys have spent their share of time in the Premier League, but have fallen on harder times lately, and the two sides have not met since Town's last relegation season—2001/02. 

Mick McCarthy's Ipswich side started the season well, winning five of their first six league and cup games.

Since then, they have stuttered a little—heavily beaten by Reading, narrowly defeated by table-topping Brighton and, most recently, drawing at home with Birmingham. They currently sit in the playoff places, although the Championship season is a long and grueling one. 

Peter Dejong/Associated Press

United will come into this tie after an important win over Southampton on Sunday, and they will be looking for their first run of back-to-back wins since August 18.

They will also be hoping to avoid a repeat of the embarrassing defeat they suffered in last season's Capital One Cup—the 4-0 defeat to MK Dons. Defeat to Ipswich might not be an embarrassment on the same scale, but it would be a significant upset.

Date: Wednesday, 23 September

Time: 8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester

TV Info:  Match broadcast in full on MUTV from 12 a.m. BST 

Live Stream: beIN SPORTS CONNECT (U.S.)

Form Lines

Manchester United: DWLWLW

Ipswich Town:  WWLLWD

Team News

United will be without Marcos Rojo and Paddy McNair, according to Louis van Gaal's interview with MUTV, per the official club website. There is better news as Phil Jones returns from thrombosis and will take a seat on the bench. 

Interestingly, Van Gaal allowed James Wilson and Jesse Lingard to play 90 minutes for the United under-21 team earlier this week, and said of this game, "I don’t need them so they can have a day off and then Thursday they will be fresh and can train."

That comes as some surprise given there have been few opportunities for United-trained youngsters this season. 

With McNair injured and Wilson and Lingard not set to feature, there will be an interesting sub-plot here if United do not field a player trained at the club either in the starting line-up or on the bench.

It would be ironic if the long record of always having a home-grown player in the United squad was broken in the League Cup—a competition which has seen many youngsters given their debuts.

As for Ipswich, BBC Sport report, "Midfielders Ryan Fraser (ankle) and Kevin Bru are expected to be available, while goalkeeper Dean Gerken (groin/shin) will be assessed."

The BBC Sport article also claims, "McCarthy is expected to rotate his squad, with one eye on Town's Championship campaign." 

Predicted Lineups

Given McCarthy is set to rotate, predicting the Ipswich line-up is a tricky prospect. It seems unfortunate that some of his key players could be set to miss out on such a big game, but the Championship will be a priority given the prize on offer if they achieve promotion.

Van Gaal's public statement that he is not planning to include Wilson and Lingard suggests there will not be an emphasis on youth, though presumably some fringe players will get a game. A line-up that looks something like that laid out below could be a possibility.

There are a number of educated guesses in the above. Firstly, the inclusion of David De Gea. Last season, Van Gaal picked De Gea in a much-changed, youth-packed XI against MK Dons. However, in Sergio Romero he has a back-up goalkeeper of his own selection.

Young goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, 22, could even feature. And if De Gea is given the day off, it will at least ensure a youngster is on the bench. 

However, Van Gaal's reluctance to rotate De Gea last season, even once Victor Valdes arrived, is the reason for his inclusion here. 

At left-back, with McNair injured and Jones set for the bench, Daley Blind will have to play at centre-back meaning Ashley Young looks in line for a defensive role.

At right-back Antonio Valencia may be preferred to Matteo Darmian, but this could be a chance to rebuild some confidence in the Italian, who was substituted at half-time against Southampton. 

With Ander Herrera having missed out on a place against Southampton, it seems sensible to play him against Ipswich.

The inclusion of Andreas Pereira is somewhat speculative, but he was not included with Wilson and Lingard in the list of players Van Gaal is omitting, so the 19-year-old Belgium under-20 international could be on the bench at least. 

With Anthony Martial in superb form, he will surely retain his place up front.

Players to Watch 

Depending on how heavily McCarthy rotates his side, United will have to be wary of former West Ham United youngster Freddie Sears. The 25-year-old has scored in four of his past six outings, and he provided an assist in one of the games in which he did not score. 

Much of Town's creativity this season has come from young Arsenal-loanee Ainsley Maitland-Niles. The right-winger, 18, is averaging 1.6 key passes and 1.8 crosses per league game for the Tractor Boys, per WhoScored.com.

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

For United, all eyes will be on man-of-the-moment Martial. The spectacular start to his Old Trafford career has been a delightful surprise for United fans. He has turned a previously dysfunctional attack into a dangerous force again, and Van Gaal's men have scored six goals in their past two league games. 

Wayne Rooney is still looking to recapture some form—having impressed against lower-level opposition against Club Brugge in the Champions League, and he will be hoping for a good night against Ipswich.

Key Battle

Alex Broadway/Getty Images

United looked vulnerable against Southampton's well organised attack, so a good deal of this result could depend on the solidity of United's injury-hit back-four.

However, whatever line-ups the two sides put out, United's firepower should be too much for Ipswich who have hardly looked rock solid themselves, particularly given they conceded five to Reading as recently as September 11.

Odds

The odds for the game, at the time of writing, per Oddschecker are: 

Manchester United Win: 2/5

Draw: 47/10

Ipswich Win: 9/1