As Manchester United prepare to face off against local rivals Manchester City with a berth at the top of the league up for grabs, Louis van Gaal has a few decisions to make about his starting line-up.
After a long round trip to Moscow and back during midweek, van Gaal has bemoaned the fixture schedule and claimed that Man City are favourites for the clash. Despite this, he’s hopeful of a victory at Old Trafford but a lot will be based on the selections he makes for his starting line-up.
In goal, United boast the best goalkeeper in world football at the moment. David De Gea has been outstanding once again between the sticks for the Old Trafford side since returning to the team in September. He was unlucky not to keep a clean sheet against CSKA in midweek when he saved a penalty, only to see the rebound slammed in by Seydou Doumbia. He’s the undisputed No.1 at Old Trafford and Sunday could be his biggest test of the season so far against a Manchester City side who have scored 11 goals in their last two league games.
In defence, van Gaal’s main decision is about what to do at left-back. Matteo Darmian has established himself as the first choice right-back at the club but has shown a weakness when faced up with frightening pace. Raheem Sterling is in flying form for Man City and while Valencia could match him for pace and overpower him, his defensive positioning is poor and City could expose that, so I expect Darmian to get the nod.
Chris Smalling was named as a future Manchester United captain by Louis van Gaal after the draw in Moscow and has become one of the best defenders in the Premier League since his red card in the derby at the Etihad last season. He’s a shoe-in for the game and his partner looks likely to be Phil Jones. The England international has returned from injury and forced his way back into the team at the expense of Daley Blind. A natural defensive pairing, the two have a good understanding and have been hard to penetrate in recent games meaning that they are likely to continue at the heart of the defence for this huge fixture.
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Left back is the problem position at the moment though. Louis van Gaal admitted that the club don’t have a like-for-like replacement for the injured Luke Shaw at left back but in Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind they do have two competent options for the remainder of the campaign. While Rojo was excellent against Everton, he showed his frailties against CSKA Moscow when he was targeted as a weakness and that may have forced van Gaal to go with his Dutch compatriot as a more trusted option, especially after his fantastic performance in this fixture in that position in April.
In midfield, many expected Bastian Schweinsteiger to be rested in midweek ahead of this clash with Michael Carrick replacing him. That didn’t happen and the German played 45 minutes before being substituted in a tactical switch by van Gaal at half-time. While it was likely not planned, it does mean that he got a bit more rest than the rest of the players and could feature from the start in this game once again. That said, Michael Carrick came on as a late substitute against Everton and didn’t feature at all against Moscow meaning he is fresh and could easily step in.
Morgan Schneiderlin had an underwhelming start to his career at Old Trafford but his last two performances have shown exactly why Manchester United splashed out £24 million on him. After scoring his first goal for the club in the 3-0 win over Everton and being a defensive shield throughout, he completed 90 minutes again against CSKA Moscow in another dominant midfield performance. While it’ll be hard for him to complete 90 minutes three times in a week, his record in big games for Southampton was phenomenal and he often had Yaya Toure’s number in their big clashes. He must start again and with his pairing with Schweinsteiger against Everton coming in one of the side’s best performances of the season, I expect it’ll be that duo again.
On the right, Juan Mata got a well deserved rest in midweek as youngster Jesse Lingard made his Champions League debut. The Spaniard wasn’t needed from the bench and after his good form in the league this season, a recall is almost certain despite Lingard’s impressive display. Mata’s goal threat will be massive for United but he will be forced to show his defensive abilities too as Sterling and Kolarov will bomb down that flank for the entire 90 minutes.
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Ander Herrera is surely now a certain starter for Manchester United. The Spanish midfielder has made the No.10 position his own after some fantastic performances in recent weeks, including a masterclass against Everton where he scored and got an assist. His inclusion formed a perfect midfield triangle and that midfield three will be necessary to defeat Manchester City and overcome their powerful midfield.
On the left, Memphis has lost his place in the side. After struggling for the first few months, the young Dutch star was rested after the international break and replaced on the wing by French teenager Anthony Martial. The 19 year old was phenomenal from the left against Everton, before scoring his first Champions League goal with a diving header after coming in from the left flank against CSKA Moscow. It’s expected that Martial will continue in that role to accomodate the inclusion of Wayne Rooney as the main striker but with Memphis on the bench, United will back big, game changing options to come from the substitutes bench if necessary.
