It's the battle of Rashford vs Martial, again.
I think both of them deserve to start. If Jose is only going to play one of them, I'm going for Rashford.
I think there is a small chance of us seeing Martial-Lukaku-Rashford.
1. Both deserve to start for obvious reasons, but Rashford has to be "sacrificed" again
2. Although Rashford as RW hasn't been good based on a few games, it's still too early to tell. Now things have changed. Also, his "constantly attacking space with pace" and right-footed cross can be vital.
3. Most importantly, playing him as RW is the only way to play 3 of them together. All of them are lethal and pacey, which is defenders' nightmare. There could be "synergy", 1+1+1 = 4. Plus, Martial and Rashford both provide different attacking style from the width.
4. Jose's style is, defense comes 1st, attack 2nd. With our proven defensive record (including a world class DDG) and Matic's stability, we can afford to go more offensive.
5. Yes every point is important, but it is only 2nd game
6. Swansea is likely to defend deep, especially without their main attackers
If they both start, it's hard to say whether we will play 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3. But I think both could work, depending on how offensive Jose wants it to be. A midfield of Matic-Pogba-Mkhi in a 4-2-3-1 has more creativity, whereas Matic-Herrera-Pogba in a 4-3-3 has more stability and more combative.
Some of the main argument against this system as discussed in another thread of "Martial-Lukaku-Rashford" include the lack of creativity and lack of composure.
Individually, yes.
In the big picture, I see 2 factors can greatly solve the issue
1. A new attacking dynamics. For both systems, with the stability of Matic and Lukaku stretching defense, compared to last season, now we will have more space and more "numbers" up front with CM/AM, fullbacks, and wingers all joining the attack.
2. As a result of this dynamics, Jose is able to play more offensively compared to last season. (not going to go into details here, in short, my view is that when Jose knows he has a very good offensive team with good/very good defense, then he will go offensive, just like his 04-06 Chelsea and Real)
Now our fullbacks and CM/AM, especially Pogba/Mkhi, can push much higher, create chances and balance out their lack of composure, allowing Martial/Rashford/Lukaku playing a more direct role, which is what they are best at. Martial can focus on dribble past his players (now with less players than last season), Rashford attacking the space on the right, and Lukaku running behind defenders, all with support coming from fullbacks and CM/AM. This is the ideal offensive scenario.
PS: You can quote me post-match