Premier League Preview: Manchester United

Blog written by ad_wilkin
Published: 23rd November 2024 12:20

My first game at Portman Road was on Tuesday 22nd August 2000 when an early Fabian Wilnis goal was cancelled out by a David Beckham free-kick as Town earned a point against Manchester United. On Sunday I'll be watching those two clubs face off once again.

Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge that day and Ruben Amorim will become the 10th manager to take charge of a United team since then.

The 39-year-old Portuguese joins from Sporting Lisbon where he won their first title for 19 years, four consecutive league cups and last year won their second league title in his spell in charge. They currently sit top of the league and had an excellent 4-1 victory against Manchester City in the Champions League recently.

Leaving a club where he has had such success is a risk, especially given the lack of success his predecessors have had at Old Trafford, so he’ll be hoping to get off to a good start here especially as he’s already been rumoured to be shocked by the scale of the task he faces.

<h1>Goalkeepers </h1>

Andre Onana had a tough first season at Old Trafford with some high-profile mistakes but this season he has proved to be a stable pair of hands. His goals prevented rate is 3.11 which is second to only Bournemouth's Mark Travers currently.

His back-up is 26-year-old Turk Altay Bayandir. He’s been limited to two Carabao Cup games so far with Onana starting all Premier League and Europa League games. Tom Heaton is third choice

<h1>Defence </h1>

With Luke Shaw still made of glass, although apparently nearing another return to fitness, United’s full-backs have been Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot. Both are naturally right-footed but each can cover at left-back. With Amorim coming in it is likely there will be a formation change from the existing 4-2-3-1 to a 3-4-3 with both of those players vying for the right wing-back role.

Manchester United went through an overhaul at centre-back in the summer with the signings of Mathijs De Ligt and Lenny Yoro, both of whom will be excellent fits for Amorim’s new tactical style. De Ligt is likely to operate as the central defender who will be tasked with sweeping up play and keeping things ticking over whilst his counterparts either side overlap, ala Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United of a few years ago.

De Ligt could also be asked to advance into midfield to form a double pivot when United are in possession which is where his excellent ability on the ball could come into play. He played as a midfielder for the majority of his youth career at Ajax so will be comfortable in those areas.

Nineteen-year-old Yoro arrived this summer following an impressive season at Lille. Unfortunately, he only managed two pre-season games for the club before fracturing his metatarsal and it looks likely this game will come too soon for him with a return pencilled in for December.

That could open the door for 30-year-old Swede Victor Lindelof, who has been at the club since 2017 but has never nailed down a permanent spot in the side. Injury issues haven’t helped in that regard and he’s making his way back from a toe injury from the start of this season.

That leaves the left-sided centre-back slot which is nailed on for Lisandro Martinez. The tough tackling Argentinian will be afforded more protection from his obvious vulnerability in the air, in a back three. At 5ft 9in tall he is the shortest centre-back in the league. What he is excellent at is reading the game and stepping in to win possession. His 22 interceptions are a league high for defenders and he’s also comfortable on the ball with 58 progressive passes with a pass completion rate of 89%

The other options in the United backline are Harry Maguire, who is currently on the sidelines with a foot injury, and veteran defender Jonny Evans, who returned for a second spell at the club at the beginning of 2023.

They also have Tyrell Malacia who made 14 starts for the club in the 2022/23 season but has struggled with injuries since and is working his way back to fitness, as well as 17-year-old Harry Amass, a left-back who many are tipping for big things.

Amorim has shown that he is keen to develop young talent so is there an outside chance that he could be thrown in at the deep end?

<h1>Midfielders </h1>

Amorim likes to play with a double pivot with the deeper midfielder more of a ball winning defensive midfielder with a more box to box threat alongside him who against weaker teams can push forward into the attacking line. In terms of the defensive midfielder, it seems like summer signing Manuel Ugarte will be the man to take that role.

The 23-year-old Uruguayan was signed from PSG in August and averaged 3.9 tackles a game in Ligue 1 last season as well as 7.2 ball recoveries. He’s taken a bit of time to get up to speed but put in an excellent performance against Leicester last time out, winning 10 out of 16 ground duels whilst also making eight tackles and three interceptions.

The other player who can fill that role is 32-year-old Brazilian Casemiro. With an overloaded trophy cabinet from his time at real Madrid, his pedigree is proven but he struggled at times last season. He’s not quite as tough in the tackle as Ugarte but is excellent on the ball and was the man chosen to play alongside the Uruguayan in Ruud van Nistelrooy’s last game. He’s also in good goalscoring form, following up a goal against West Ham with a double against Leicester in the Carabao Cup.

Kobbie Mainoo was one of the few bright sparks of Englands Euros campaign and is the ideal mould to fill the box-to-box role. The youngster has been managing a muscular injury in recent times and hasn’t played for United since 6th October, also withdrawing from the latest England squad to focus on recovery. It’s likely he’ll be fit to feature in some way at Portman Road, which will be a boost for the Red Devils.

If Amorim opts to go with a more attacking line-up then Bruno Fernandes could be the man to fill that role. The Portuguese international is in excellent form with six assists and four goals in all competitions and also netted during the international break.

He’d been playing as a central 10 under Erik ten Hag and Van Nistlrooy but that role doesn’t exist in Amorim’s system so he will have to find a new home. The deeper midfield role would suit his excellent passing ability. His 84 progressive passes are a league high with a high number of those going into the final third.

Other options in that central area are Christian Eriksen, Mason Mount and 20-year-old Toby Collyer, who impressed on his only start of the season so far against Liverpool.

<h1>Attackers </h1>

A short-term fix for Amorim’s left wing-back role would to be to slot a left-sided winger in there. This would keep providing the attacking threat but Martinez would have to do a lot of covering for them. There are two slightly rounded square pegs for that hole in Alejandro Garnacho and Antony.

Twenty-year-old youth prospect Garnacho burst onto the scene in 2022/23 but really staked a place in the team last year with seven goals and four assists in 36 appearances.

He ranks fifth this season for progressive carries out of all forwards and has the sixth-most shots on target also receiving the fifth-highest progressive passes, all of which make him an excellent ball-carrying, dribbling outlet down that left-hand side. It also means he has the ability to cut inside and get a shot away, something he certainly isn’t shy about doing.

Antony is the fourth-most expensive signing in Premier League history and it’s safe to say United haven’t got their money's worth so far. He’s scored five Premier League goals in his two-and a-bit seasons, currently working out at £16.4 million per goal.

He’s only played 34 minutes so far this season but is naturally left-footed and still only 24. Could Amorim be the man to help him reinvent himself as a flying wing-back?

That moves us on two the players who could fill the two number 10 roles, in addition to Fernandes and Mount there are two players who have previously played as wingers that could thrive in these roles that operate more as inside forwards. They are Marcus Rashford and Amad Diallo.

Rashford has underwhelmed in the last season-and-a-half and only has two goal contributions (one goal, one assist) in 10 starts so far this season in the Premier League. He’s fared better in cup competitions with two goals and an assist against Barnsley in the Carabao Cup and a goal and assist combo against Porto in the Europa League, and could be one who benefits from Amorim’s new system.

Diallo has been one of my surprise packages of the season. Having had a very successful loan in the Championship in 2022/23 with Sunderland, another loan was anticipated last year but he stayed with United, training with the first team but only starting three Premier League games all season.

That training time seems to have paid off and he’s arguably United’s most all-round attacker. He has one goal and two assists but is averaging more than 10 more touches per game in the final third than his United counterparts. He also has the highest pass completion and the most progressive carries per 90. He’s almost certain to start as the right-sided number 10.

That just leaves the big powerful number nine who Amorim likes to be good at holding the ball up but also quick and powerful at running into the channels. At Sporting he had Victor Gyokeres for that role, at United he inherits Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee.

Hojlund is the closest fit to that profile and has started United’s last three games with Zirkee replacing him off the bench in each one. His first season in the Premier League was hit by a couple of injury problems but he still managed 10 goals in 25 starts. He has one in five so far this season and hasn’t been able to influence games that much so far averaging just 11.5 touches in the final third per game so far.

Zirkzee was signed this summer after an impressive season in Serie A with Bologna, scoring 11 goals in 34 appearances. At 23 years old he’s by no means the finished article but United saw enough in him to spend money on him as a project striker.

He’s made four starts with just one goal to his name (the winner in the first game of the season against Fulham) so far. He’ll likely play second fiddle to Hojlund but there is also a chance he could play in one of the deeper 10 roles alongside the Dane in Amorim’s new formation.

<h1>The Teams </h1>

When it comes to the age-old question of whether to change a winning team there are a few question marks. Will fit again Jacob Greaves replace Cameron Burgess, who has deputised excellently but has also had two international appearances with a lot of travel around them this break?

Does Kalvin Phillips, who has served his suspension come back into midfield? The former Leeds and current Manchester City man will certainly be fired-up to face United given the rivalries with his former clubs, and will Kieran McKenna consider any other tactical tweaks?

My guess to those questions is yes, no and maybe. If there is to be a tactical tweak I think it would be Woolfenden coming into the back three.

If Amorim switches formation like most people are expecting him to and McKenna sticks with a back five, then it means the spare man is likely to be one of the defenders, so having someone who can play the ball out of defence into the two 10s would be handy. Woolfenden and Greaves are our best defenders in that aspect as can be seen below

click to enlarge

For Manchester United, I've talked a lot about the formation switch and players that can fill those roles running through the team, so I'm just going to leave my guess at their line up below.

<h1>Prediction </h1>

The monkey is off the back. The win is in the bag. I bruised my knee at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium jumping up and down I was celebrating so much. McKenna’s feet however will stay firmly on the ground.

Sky Sports are in Town for the first time this season, it’s another of McKenna's former clubs and I'm certain he’ll be fired-up for this. As will United’s players, a new manager can bring an instant bounce, but if there is too much overhaul it can also take players time to get up to speed with new methods and systems.

Hopefully it’s the latter. I’m going to go for a 1-1 draw for this one to mirror the game I mentioned at the start, if Ben Johnson could fire home the same way Wilnis did that would really get the late Sunday afternoon party started.

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