Goodness knows. Maybe just a bit of artistic licence from the press.
FA Premier League
Manchester United 2:0 Leicester City
Old Trafford
- Kick-off
- Sat, 26 August 2017 @ 5:30pm BST
- Status
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Closed
Discussion Your Lineup Prediction
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- Status
Our first potential real test, they'll play deep like Swansea but will actually pose a real threat on the counter.
I would start Martial - he's deserved it but also I feel Rashford is better coming on later in this type of game when Simpson is hopefully on a yellow/knackered.
Blind shouldn't start, he looks bereft of confidence and to be honest I would just go with pace at LB. We will see a lot of the ball but if Mahrez gets Blind 1-1 I don't fancy Blind. Call me crazy but I'd stick in the young boy Mitchell, that way at least you have a back line that is full of gas and should be able to deal with any long balls over the top that DDG can't sweep up. Plus he's more of a threat on the attack than Blind has been.
-------------------DDG-----------------
Valencia -- Bailly -- Jones -- Mitchell
--------Mata --- Matic ---Pog --------
Mkhi ---------------------------Martial
-----------------Lukaku--------------@tomaldinho1 why do you want Mata in midfield rather than Herrera?Shakespeare said Vardy will be involved in midweek, so I'm guessing he'll play against us
That's meant to be in the system we used against WHUM & Swans. Not saying Mata playing as a CM.
Maybe he will want a bit more bite in the middle with Herrera but our system has been good so far so I expect minimal changes other than Martial for Rashford.Lets beat them 4:0. I'm not asking for much.
I would like to see,
De Gea
Valencia.....Bailly.....Jones..........Blind
Matic
Herrera........Pogba
Mkhitaryan...............................Martial
Lukaku1. de Gea
25. Valencia 3. Bailly 4. Jones 17. Blind
31. Matic 6. Pogba
22. Mkhitaryan
19. Rashford 11. Martial
9. Lukaku
Would want to see this line-up.
Just like rashford was brilliant at times as sub? Start martial and sub him for rashford might change the whole story.
Martial coming late when we're 1-0 has something to do with tactics, maybe jose sees team are pushing up and martial is his counter?
It's not plain black and whiteRash and Martial have both performed well in the two matches....I see improvement in Rash....if its not broke why fix it? Start same 11...let Martial come on as a sub...suiting him well right now.
Yeah, just the same score as last year. Perfectly reasonable expectation.Lets beat them 4:0. I'm not asking for much.
DDG
Tony V
Bailly
Jones
Blind
Herrera
Matic
Mkhi
Pogba
Martial
Lukaku
That's exactly how I read it.
And if we follow the tried and tested formula, who knows, maybe another 4 goal bonanza will be in the offing.
I must admit it was funny when Fellaini came on and Swansea players basically shat themselves. They didn't know whether to attack, defend, play the ball on the ground or play it in the air. Whatever they tried, they were going to get a spanking and that's exactly what happened.
I know it sucks for Martial and his fanboys, but remember, the aim is to win...even if it means that your favourite players get benched to achieve that.
Yeah, just the same score as last year. Perfectly reasonable expectation.
I think 4-0 is perfectly reasonable.
Which is the right thing to do at the moment. Martial is lethal coming from the bench, why change it?
It's not a straight Yes/No answer.
It depends on how you play the system. For example, Real/Barca 4-3-3 is uber offensive, whereas Jose's 4-3-3 is defensive at times last season (more like 4-5-1 with both wingers assigned heavy defensive duty).
I agree largely, but there's also the issue that you become predictable. It doesn't hurt to change it up abit to outwit your opponents and their preparations. However I think on his occasion we have too much for Leicester, especially since it's at home and with reports suggesting Vardy is out. So indeed it'd be wise to go with the same team. I can Mourinho tinkering slightly though and that wouldn't surprise me either.
Still think in general the formation is more defensive than a 4-3-3. Chelsea won the league playing a negative style of play. Juventus were also rather defensive. I've rarely seen an ultra attaining 3-5-2I'm going 2-1 to us. I think they will give us a better game than Swansea and West Ham.I think we'll murder them in attack, we could easily score another 4. Problem is they are dangerous in attack and we have yet to be tested. Having said that though our defense looks brilliant since last year.
3-1 United. Sloppy goal conceded by the pace merchant Vardy.
If you mean "in general" you are right. But it's hard to argue about Chelsea/Juv's systems, I wouldn't say they play "defensive", I would say it's kinda balance, neither too offensive nor too defensive. (ie Juv didn't park the bus against Real in final, instead they were kinda offensive, although not gung-ho. So if you say Real is 100% offensive, I would say Juv was 75% offensive)
Most importantly, it's about fitting the players in the right system to bring out the best. (ie Juve have a world class Alves and very good Sandro). And they are definitely some offensive systems.
------------------------------------------------------------
Brazil 2002 won the world cup with 3-4-1-2
--------Rivaldo------Ronaldo---------
-------------Ronaldinho--------------
R.Carlos--------------------------Cafu
This offensive system was perfect for the 5 main attackers. The key of this system is the wingbacks. When you have world class wingbacks like Carlos/Cafu where they are both good defensive and offensive, it brings the best out of the system.
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I think the system of 3-5-2 where City is currently experimenting, is offensive in general. The idea is to bring out the best of these six "offensive" players when Pep play attacking style football
Wingbacks: Walker, Mendy
AM: Silva, KDB
Forwards: Aguero, JesusLast edited:This is an important test for United. Yes, Leicester are a good side, but we need to be seeing that sort of team off at home if we want to compete for the title.Is this televised this week
Edit** nevermind just seen it's on BT sport
We are the one of the most unpredictable teams in the premier league even if playing with the same line up. Given that we have strength, pace, technique and finally became a threat fro set pieces, we can change the game plan during the game without having to change personnel.
Having Martial who hopefully has found his scoring boots this season, is a massive threat to the opposition especially considering tired defenders.
That being said, if Martial keeps improving from the bench, they will switch roles with Rashford imo.
I'd like to see that too. We've not seen much of this formation and line up but I have a feeling it'd be our strongest.
Also if Mahrez proves to be on form, Herrera can do a job on him like he did on Hazard last season.
They scored 3 at Emirates and beat Brighton. They are fine and will cause our defense more trouble than West Ham and Swansea but we should be comfortably winning this game anyway.---------------Lukaku-------------
Rash/Martial---------------Mkhi
----------Pogba---Herrera-------
---------------Matic---------------
Blind---Jones---Bailly---Valencia
Midfield trio for stability, especially against their counter. Do not think Vardy's absence will change Jose's mind. However, would not be surprised to see 4-2-3-1 given our outperformance in the past two games, and new dynamism in our attack. If that were to happen, it could mark the turning point, that Jose is very confident of our attacking ability and he is willing to take on much more risk than last season.
I think this is the most likely one. Not sure about Rash/Martial, but 60-40 on Rash/Martial.
However, I'm not surprised to see both Rashford and Martial start over Mkhi given their outperformance. (Yes Mkhi had 4 assists, but I think this stats masks his underperformance)Last edited:
Because people think that winning 4-0, Martial getting game time scoring and Rashford putting in a good performance is a bad thing as it means that it's either/or and Martial won't get the minutes this season despite us probably having 60+ games, having a congestive schedule and injuries to deal with during the season.
I watched the Arsenal match and the Brighton highlights. They weren't inept in attack but nothing beyond what we saw last season home and away. Given that we rolled them over both times with an inferior team there's no reason to be jittery.
They don't sit back too much either and play with a 2-man midfield. We might not keep a clean sheet but we'll definitely score a few.
I wish it worked like that though. They were very poor at Old Traffors last year and we steamrolled them but if they get going quickly this year and sneak the first goal, it could get tough. I am not particularly fond of Leicester after 5-3.
We also steamrolled them on their own ground in Feb, after they sacked Rainieri and well on to their recovery.
That 5-3 game was followed shortly by 0-4 MK Dons, should we be afraid of those too?
Playing the same team week in and week out, would be the definition of predictable. As would the same subs.
I agree that our creative play is very good and indeed we have excelled at using variety to open teams up, but our personnel doesn't cover all game plans out there. Hence why Jose likes to change things up abit, such as bringing Fellaini on.
I also don't agree with this notion that Martial is especially doing well is because of tired defences. Not until it's proven over a bigger sample of games. Against Swansea there's a case to be made, but against WHU it was deft movement from him that caught them out. Martial is playing with a higher intensity, and potency and that makes him a bigger threat directly. This has been present from as early as pre-season games. Only then he is absolutely ice cold in 1v1 situations so that he will score from there 9 out of 10 times. It's not fair on Martial to put his output down to tired defences. He himself is performing too. The reality is somewhere in between.
Let's not also forget that rotation is required for the sake of fitness, and keeping players fresh. We do not want to be getting key players injured. Our midfield is extremely strong, but also fragile. Once the CL kicks in very soon then we cannot reasonably expect to be fielding the same XI across both the CL and PL anyway (Not to forget the other 2 domestic competitions). Our players are not all like for like, and Jose has consider what attributes each player possesses that will add to the team dynamic, and which will be a hindrance.
But that's exactly what Jose did in his successful seasons with Chelsea - played the same line up every game and, pretty much, the same subs coming on (Ramirez and Mikkel)
Fellaini is being brought in more from a defensive point of view as teams tend to play more long balls and put pressure in the box when chasing a game in later periods of the game.
Regarding Martial, I would rather have a more clinical player who comes with 20 minutes remaining and can convert the chances he has than vice versa. But this is just my opinion on it. Also, I said "doing well especially against tired defenders" and not "especially doing well against tired defenders". I agree that he is getting back to form and this is not solely due to him being brought in the game as opposed to starting.
We are playing one game a week at the moment, with a two weeks brake coming after the Leicester game. I don't see the need for rotation for now.Leicester play old-school 4-4-2. Maybe 4-3-3 for controlling midfield and starting Martial?
That said, Mourinho doesn't usually change a settled system, especially at home against inferior opponents. Yup, everything remains the same.Just heard Michael Oliver is the ref, we need to be cautious in midfield and not get caught out. We know how much that nob hates us, a nice early goal would do us to run them down.Oliver is the ref. We took 2 pts from 3 matches last season with him in charge.
In his most recent successful season with Chelsea the style of play took a noticeable change in the second half of the season where Chelsea began to play more conservatively in the League, grinding out 1-0 wins, whilst going for it in Europe. He also did the same last season when he finally found his best XI, until injuries began to take their toll and left him lamenting our heavily congested schedule. I would also argue at Chelsea he didn't ever have the strength in depth that he possesses at United now.
I think there's two separate debates arising. One is rotation to keep players fresh and the other is to add more variety into your set up. I was arguing the latter is an effective tactic, whilst the former is an incentive if we want to be successful across all competitions. Of course if we decide to just go for the league this season, then it'd make sense to play a PL XI if you like, and rotate for other competitions but I'd like to think that we will endeavour to win everything out there. I'm not talking about drastic changes to the personnel anyway, just a couple of changes can generate significant results.
But that's what I mean. Fellaini being brought on offers an aerial advantage that the player being replaced doesn't (Mata in both cases this season). He adds something to the team that Mata could not do to the same degree. In the same way when playing against Liverpool at Anfield soon, it wouldn't surprise me if Jose opts for a midfield 3 of Matic sitting behind Herrera and Pogba. Or Carrick sitting behind Matic and Pogba. It's a single person change, but completely changes the set up of our midfield. This would help us not get overrun in a game in which Liverpool heavily like to get bodies into the centre to press the opposition.
Fair point via Martial, but until he starts and plays a good run of games I can't come to a conclusion. He may very well start a game and go on to a score a hat-trick across 90 mins. As I mentioned he's definitely playing with a higher intensity compared to this time last season. He like Rashford has the ability to run defenders ragged, but he has the additional advantage of better close control which helps him open up space better. He's also seems to be the better finisher, in 1v1 situations at the least.
As for Leicester, I agree rotation for fitness reasons shouldn't be a concern. I don't want anyone to get the idea that I want Jose to rotate for the sake of rotating. I'm just saying that every team is different with a different set up, style and personnel. That might mean a one size fits all approach isn't advisable, and tinkering our personnel a bit can give us that edge in certain games. But Jose has to actually feel the player he is starting actually gives us that edge over the player he's taking out, otherwise he's disrupting the team dynamic for no reason. Thankfully I know I can trust him to make those decisions.- Status
Man of the Match
Runners-up
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27%
Paul Pogba
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9%
Marcus Rashford
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7%
Eric Bailly
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6%
Nemanja Matic
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4%
Anthony Martial
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3%
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
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2%
Juan Mata
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2%
David de Gea
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1%
Marouane Fellaini
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1%
Antonio Valencia
Player Ratings
Total Average Rating
Highest Rated Player
Lowest Rated Player
Compiled from 703 ratings.
Score Predictions
939,12,26
- Man Utd win
- Leicester win
- Draw
Detailed Results
- 28% Man Utd 3:1 Leicester
- 20% Man Utd 3:0 Leicester
- 18% Man Utd 2:0 Leicester
- 14% Man Utd 2:1 Leicester
- 10% Man Utd 4:0 Leicester
- 2% Man Utd 5:0 Leicester
- 2% Man Utd 4:1 Leicester
- 2% Man Utd 3:2 Leicester
- 1% Man Utd 1:0 Leicester
- 1% Man Utd 1:1 Leicester
- 1% Man Utd 2:2 Leicester
- 1% Man Utd 0:0 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 4:2 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 1:2 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 5:1 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 1:3 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 0:1 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 4:5 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 0:2 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 3:3 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 5:2 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 0:4 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 2:3 Leicester
Match Stats
- Man Utd
- Leicester
- Possession
- 69% 31%
- Shots
- 22 11
- Shots on Target
- 7 4
- Corners
- 9 3
- Fouls
- 8 7
Referee
Michael Oliver
Man Utd Lineup
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replaced by Marcus Rashford
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replaced by Marouane Fellaini
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replaced by Jesse Lingard
