Manchester United have been a rejuvenated force under Erik ten Hag this term with their battering in the early exchanges of the campaign to Brentford now a distant memory.
The Red Devils lost 4-0 on that occasion but are currently on a remarkable run of form, having lost just once in their last 18 fixtures, a streak dating back to before the World Cup.
Only league leaders Arsenal have stopped them in their tracks since then, with things beginning to look rather rosy now on the red side of Manchester.
They still trail their city rivals but have a chance to go within three points this afternoon when they take on Leicester City.
United will have to earn those points, however, without Casemiro who will sit out the last game of his domestic suspension.
The Brazilian featured against Barcelona in midweek but will have to be replaced, with Fred looking likely to drop into a deeper position, allowing for the return of Marcel Sabitzer.
How has Sabitzer played at Man United so far?
The Austrian arrived from Bayern Munich on a loan deal on transfer deadline day in January but it wasn’t greeted with much fanfare.
In fact, outspoken pundit Paul Merson suggested it was a panic acquisition amid the injury to Christian Eriksen.
However, despite his limited game time, the 28-year-old is already proving his worth and going some way to showing why he might be deserving of a permanent £18m outlay come the summer.
In the two recent meetings with Leeds United, Sabitzer has achieved a Sofascore rating of 7.4 and 7.2 respectively, with those numbers seeing him placed as the second-best and the joint fourth-best player on the pitch in each clash.
In the process, the Bayern loanee has succeeded with 84% of his passes while proving to be both a combative and attack-minded asset.
That places Sabitzer as a crucial cog in the side, one who can seemingly do it all in the centre of the park, having won six ground duels and four aerial battles across those outings.
Furthermore, he has registered three key passes and three shots as a marker of his dangerous offensive abilities. Although yet to score in United colours, he often “shoots like a horse” as quipped by Sky Sports’ Uli Koelher.
As such, he simply must be unleashed on Brendan Rodgers’ side on Sunday, with the Austria international already looking a fine replacement for Eriksen.
How could Sabitzer and Rashford play together?
The thought of Sabitzer lining up alongside the in-form Marcus Rashford is a simply mouthwatering one, with the former’s creative and battling abilities seemingly perfect for the England international.
Indeed, with his innate ability to win back possession and then find a teammate with his immense creativity, he is the perfect foil for United’s star man amid Eriksen’s absence from the side.
Rashford has easily been one of the best in the division this term, scoring 12 times in 23 top-flight outings, numbers that have seen him register a whopping 30 goal contributions in all competitions, 22 of which have been goals.
A figure who has had fresh life breathed into his career under the new management, he is very quickly becoming one of the most feared attackers on the continent.
Such form means that United are utterly rampant at the moment with Leicester’s rocky defence – a team who have conceded nine times in their last half-a-dozen outings – the perfect opposition for Sabitzer and Rashford to run riot upon.
This is a combination that has the potential to be match-winning, as they have already proven against Leeds.
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