How should Manchester United line-up against Spurs?
Manchester United are preparing for their first Premier League game of the season against Tottenham on Saturday with plenty of questions still to be answered about their team.
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The Red Devils won three out of four pre-season fixtures during their tour of the United States this summer, defeating European champions Barcelona along the way in their new-look 4231 formation under Louis van Gaal.
But with the boss stating he wants to play in a 433 formation this season, more questions have been asked about how the side will line-up against Spurs for the opening game of the season.
One of the most surprising things about the opening game of the season is that we know who the first choice goalkeeper is, because he never left the club.
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David De Gea was expected to depart Old Trafford and sign for Real Madrid this summer but after the club held a strong stance against selling their star player of the last two seasons in a cut-price deal despite his contractual situation, he will start against Spurs.
van Gaal revealed following the game against Paris Saint-Germain last week that he had already decided upon three of his back four that will play against Spurs, revealing that new signing Matteo Darmian will start at right-back, Luke Shaw will start at left-back. Also to the surprise of many, van Gaal revealed that his Dutch compatriot Daley Blind will start the season as the left-sided centre-back, leaving Chris Smalling and Phil Jones to fight it out for the final centre-back spot.
Despite this revelation, it’s quite clearly not United’s best defence. Blind isn’t a central defender and will struggle with the pace of the Premier League. Last season, Smalling and Jones kept Spurs’ danger man Harry Kane completely stifled in both encounters and that duo ended the season unbeaten as a partnership. That to me suggests that they should continue as a duo until, hopefully, a new defender is signed.
Now while the midfield three picked itself for the majority of last season, there are now options within the squad. The signings of Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger have added real quality to the side and have given the squad much needed depth in a crucial position.
Marouane Fellaini is suspended for the first three games following his red card in the final game of last season, meaning the options are down to four naturals. While I believe that the strongest midfield should always include Ander Herrera, I don’t think Louis van Gaal agrees with me. During pre-season Schneiderlin and Carrick were partnered together regularly and I think that will be the boss’ choice going into the new season.
While he spoke of playing a 433 system, he also revealed that he would use the system they used on tour too. This leads me to think that the front four will be the same as it was for the majority of the tour.
New signing Memphis Depay is likely to start in the No.10 role, with Juan Mata on the flanks and Wayne Rooney as the lone striker. Once again though, I disagree.
Young was rather uninspiring on tour and was outshone by the impressive Brazilian playmaker Andreas Pereira. The youngster signed a new deal at the end of last season after rejecting interest from Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain after being given first-team assurances and has taken his opportunity on tour with both hands.
van Gaal admitted that he was impressed by his performances and nobody would begrudge Pereira of a start on the opening day. If Pereira does get a start, it means there will be plenty of rotation between the front four. Memphis and Mata are all capable of playing in the No.10 role or on the wings too, while Rooney is capable of dropping into a deeper role with Memphis going up as the most advanced striker.
Alternatively, Ander Herrera could start in the No.10 position and Memphis could push out to his favoured left wing position too, which would see everyone (bar Ashley Young) happy with the starting line-up come lunchtime on Saturday.