Manchester United was informed about what to anticipate from Bruno Fernandes when he returns.

Bruno Fernandes will be playing with a point to prove for Manchester United, according to reports, after missing the goalless draw with Liverpool the previous weekend.

Fernandes received harsh criticism earlier this month after clashing with the referee and receiving his fifth warning of the year against AFC Bournemouth. Although there is no proof to support the claim that the Portuguese midfielder did this on purpose to miss the game at Anfield, this is how he was blamed.

In his absence, United put in a gutsy display to grab a point at Anfield but it is widely expected their captain shall return to the starting XI now his suspension has been served. According to Liverpool icon Mark Lawrenson, Fernandes remains the only candidate for the captaincy at Old Trafford.

“I can’t think of anyone else who deserves to be Manchester United captain,” he told Paddy Power. “I think you’ll see a different Bruno Fernandes this weekend – he will have the grit between his teeth.

“You look at that United team, and there aren’t any natural leaders, but I think Ten Hag’s hope with Fernandes is that he will create or score goals, which in itself is leadership. You don’t see him about to walk in the dressing room door and giving the speech of a lifetime.

“If you’re a player, you play for yourself – you make sure that your performances are as good as they can be, and you don’t worry about captains and anything like that as a player.” Addressing United’s clash with Liverpool at the weekend, Lawrenson added he was impressed with some of the attributes they showed.

“I always thought it would be really tight, because United couldn’t afford to go there and lose. They actually defended really well – they got quite a lot of stick, but they went there not to get beaten and it worked,” he concluded.

“There’s always a result sometimes when you’ve been struggling that’s your turnaround result, and I think that might be it. They are a better team than they showed at the weekend, but they actually showed some grit and determination and made it really difficult, because if you saw them against Bournemouth, they were all over the place, I think that’s the lowest they could ever be.”

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