Manchester United will head to Spain to face Atletico Madrid but could be without both Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw as they make late calls on the duo

Manchester United are waiting to see whether Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw will be fit enough to face Atletico Madrid this week with both men doubts for the Champions League clash.

Michael Carrick and his players fly to the Spanish capital on Monday afternoon, but trained at their Carrington base in the morning as they always do before a European clash. Both Mainoo or Shaw were absent for that session.

The Daily Mail reports that a late decision will be made about whether either of the two men would make the trip to Spain ahead of Tuesday's game. In the case of Mainoo, his possible absence would open the door for summer signing Carlos Baleba to make his first start having come of the bench on Saturday.

Mainoo pulled out of England duty recently due to a combination of injury and workload management. With the season still in its infancy, United are keen not to take any risks with the midfielder.

The lack of back-up behind Shaw has already been a talking point this season. United tried and failed to sign Lewis Hall in the summer, but missing out means that they are constantly having to come up with solutions when the England international is missing.

Matthijs de Ligt, who hasn’t featured for United since November 2025, trained but is not expected to feature against Atletico. United won their Champions League opener in emphatic fashion, hitting four past minnows Sabah at Old Trafford. That is one of only two wins they've secured in their opening eight games to begin the season, which sees Carrick under serious pressure.

They face the unenviable task of trying to down Diego Simeone's side, who sit second in La Liga and were Champions League semi-finalists last season. That is the first of two challenging away games this week, with a clash with Leeds to come at the weekend.

Elland Road proved to be the final ground Ruben Amorim would visit last season before his dismissal and the Whites, who beat Carrick's side at Old Trafford earlier this year, have begun the campaign in impressive form and lost for the first time when they went down at Arsenal on Saturday.

Neville challenged the United squad to step up given the challenges coming up. "The rest of them are going to have to get a grip because they are going to Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid and Elland Road," he said. "If you're not quite right there from a mental and physical perspective, you're going to get found out."