Manchester United return to Old Trafford as they are pitted against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening. United sacked Erik ten Hag on Monday after the 2-1 defeat to West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday in which United should have been winning.
Ten Hag was undefeated in 73.4% of the matched he managed but the football has been dire, the players have looked well off the pace and now the structure of the club has been overhauled, a new manager could actually gain something. Ruud van Nistelrooy will be the interim manager for United.
Leicester are below United in the Premier League going into this match, so both teams are in the same kind of form – terrible. United beat Barnsley 7-0 in the last round of the competition with Leicester beating Walsall 3-0 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the third round match.
Predicted Manchester United Starting XI – 4-3-3
Onana;
Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Dalot;
Eriksen, Ugarte, Fernandes;
Amad, Hojlund, Garnacho
Goalkeeper: Onana
Andre Onana has endured a tough time to his new career at United. He has conceded 100 goals in 64 appearances, which is a terrible number of goals to concede, almost averaging at two goals conceded per match. That is what needs to change at United in the not too distant future.
Perhaps Ruud van Nistelrooy will establish something in the defence to succeed this season or the next manager of the club, whomever it may be will do that. But that said, it is going to be somewhat problematic to get this United team scoring more goals and conceding fewer goals.
Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton are the understudies for Onana and I don’t see any of them displacing the Cameroonian as the number one goalkeeper at the club this season or in the distant future. Onana is the player that the new manager will need to trust and get him to thrive.
Defenders: Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Dalot
The United defence need to get their game sorted. Time and time again there are problems at the back and the players on the pitch need to resolve that. Providing he is fit, Noussair Mazraoui should be starting in the right-back position. Diogo Dalot should start at left-back, if chosen.
Mazraoui and Dalot are all that United have, at least with experience at this time in the fullback roles and until Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia are fit, they will be the only options unless Harry Amass is going to be given the opportunity to shine at the club.
In the centre of defence, Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez should partner as they are the best options, although Jonny Evans has done well when called upon this season, so until the likes of Leny Yoro and Harry Maguire are back in action, that’s largely all United have plus Victor Lindelof.
Midfield: Eriksen, Ugarte, Fernandes
The midfield will need to do what is required in the centre of the pitch to get the ball further upfield to the attacking players and shield the defence to ensure they are not put under pressure. This has not been happening for a while, which is why United are so easy to beat. That can change.
Christian Eriksen is a consistent performer this season and he should be starting against Leicester. The Dane has scored a fair few goals and will get more in his last season at the club. Manuel Ugarte also needs to start more for the club as he is the future, providing he performs well at United.
Bruno Fernandes is also a player that needs to be performing to a high standard regularly. There is a chance that under a new regime, he might not be considered the captain, which is a risk he will be facing, especially if his performance are scrutinised, dependent on the new manager, of course.
Forwards: Amad, Hojlund, Garnacho
United’s attack needs to be led by Rasmus Hojlund. What he did for the club last season, becoming the top scorer of the club is something that could happen again this season. The Danish international is the player that United’s attack needs to be built around.
Amad Diallo also needs to be starting because he can be the game changer given the opportunity to do so. The talent he has was on display for Erik ten Hag but he was rarely started in the past few matches, which has been problematic with the usual suspects not performing well.
Alejandro Garnacho should be a permanent fixture on the left-wing which is where he excelled for the club last season. United need to be starting the players that work hard and perform for there club on a consistent level. Those not doing that need to work harder or leave the club.
Substitutes: Bayindir; Lindelof, Evans, Amass; Casemiro, J. Fletcher; Rashford, Zirkzee, Wheatley
United can name nine players on the bench against Leicester. I would expect that Altay Bayindir will remain on the bench as the substitute goalkeeper. I can’t see Ruud van Nistelrooy changing the goalkeeper in his first match as the interim manager of the Old Trafford club.
The defence looks likey to consist of Victor Lindelof, Jonny Evans and possibly Harry Amass because of the number of injured players at the club in the defensive area at this time. The midfield could see just Casemiro and Jack Fletcher on the bench with United missing many options.
In attack, Marcus Rashford, Joshua Zirkzee and Ethan Wheatley could be the only attacking players on the bench against Leicester, which could see more youth players given the chance to earn a place in the squad in Wednesday and looking further afield to the clash with Chelsea at the weekend.
Written by Paul
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2024-10-28 19:00:00
