Premier League Preview: Manchester United

Blog written by ad_wilkin
Published: 25th February 2025 8:39

Manchester United are no longer a team to be feared. They currently sit 15th in the league with 30 points from 26 games. The Ruben Amorim revolution has not gone to plan with the Portuguese currently sitting on the lowest win percentage of all managers following the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson of 42.86%.

In the Premier League it’s even worse with only four of his nine wins coming in the competition and there’s real danger the Red Devils could get dragged into a relegation battle.

They are, however, like Town, still in the FA Cup and face Fulham on Sunday, so will have one eye on that game as they look for their first Premier League win since beating the Cottagers at the end of January.

<h1>Last time out (Ipswich Town 1-1 Manchester United) </h1>

Town fell behind early on in an end-to-end game at Portman Road when a well worked pattern of play found Amad Diallo in space down the right before the wing-back skinned both Jens Cajuste and Leif Davis, then whipped a ball into the box for Marcus Rashford to side-foot home less than two minutes into the game.

Town took the early setback in their stride and turned the tide quickly. Wes Burns was the man who generated most of the Blues’ threat in the early stages of the first half with three wicked deliveries into the box creating two chances for Sammie Szmodics which André Onana was equal to.

The United keeper was on hand once again producing one of the saves of the season to deny Liam Delap from close range with an outstretched arm following good work from Davis down the left.

Cajuste blazed one over before an excellent turn on the edge of the box from Omari Hutchinson saw him lose his man and fire a deflected shot out of the reach of Onana from outside of the box. It was an excellent strike that was very similar to his double at Hull from last season and was a deserved equaliser just before half-time.

The second half was a quieter affair in terms of chances, but that man Onana was there to once again deny Delap from close range following another excellent delivery from Burns as the frontman tried a cheeky backheeled finish.

Down the other end, Cajuste made a tackle to stop an Alejandro Garnacho counter-attack that was cheered as loudly as a goal as he tracked his man all the way before prodding the ball away as the young Argentinian was about to fire off a shot.

Conor Chaplin and Ali Al-Hamadi got in each other's way at the death as the Blues were unable to grab a winner.

It was one of Town’s better attacking performances of the season with six shots on target from 11 shots in total. The only time the Blues have equalled that number is in both games against Southampton and they created 1.6 xG in this one.

Onana’s performance in goal was the joint-best performance from a goalkeeper at Portman Road as he made four saves preventing 0.7 goals and was very much the reason that United came away with a point.

Other than that, there weren’t many other statistics of note. United only had four shots, generating 0.8 xG and one of those was the goal.

Aside from the brief lapse in concentration early in the game, Town were solid defensively and Aro Muric wasn’t tested too much in goal. It was Manchester United who were left hanging on to keep a share of the spoils as the game ended.

<h1>Players to watch </h1>

<b>Bruno Fernandes </b>

The Portuguese midfielder has once again been dragging United through games by the scruff of their neck this season. He has 12 goal contributions, but should arguably have more as he is currently underperforming his xG by close to two goals.

He has made the most progressive passes in the league with 210 and his 120 shot-creating actions put him second, behind only Cole Palmer. He’s featured as both an eight and a ten this season but it’s the more advanced roles where he’s been playing recently that he’s the most effective.

He’s not a player who will be active in games and can often go unnoticed for large periods but is worth his weight in gold for the impact he can provide.

<b>Andre Onana </b>

Onana was the hero at Portman Road, denying Delap from close range twice. He is a top-level keeper who has all the attributes to win United points but a bit like Muric also has the tendency to switch off and gift the opposition a goal.

He has made three errors leading to goals in the Premier League as well as another in the Europa League. If Town can press high and put him under pressure, it’s his passing out from the back that usually lets him down.

<b>Patrick Dorgu </b>

The January signing from Lecce in Serie A is the first player to be signed for Amorim’s system and fills a gap where United were seriously lacking as a left-footed full-back.

He’s started both Premier League games since signing and put in good performances against both Tottenham and Everton, doing his defensive work whilst also providing an outlet up the pitch, hugging the touchline to allow the space for either Fernandes or Garnacho to operate on the inside left and cut inside.

He scored three goals for Lecce in the first half of the season and will be hoping to net in red soon.

<h1>The Teams </h1>

United are currently going through an injury crisis. Their biggest miss will be Diallo who has made 12 goal contributions so far this season and has single-handedly picked up points for United on occasions, most notably against Manchester City.

Also on the treatment table are Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount, Altay Bayindir and Jonny Evans.

A quiet January saw just one addition but summer signings Lenny Yoro and Manuel Ugarte are now fit again and both could feature in this one with Harry Maguire coming in for some criticism from fans once again recently.

Other than the defence, the lack of players available means there’s not too many selection headaches. Rasmus Hojlund has been leading the line with Joshua Zirkzee in behind but the later has been disappointing.

Amorim could move Fernandes across to put Garnacho in to provide a bit more pace and energy in those central areas. Christian Eriksen is also fit again to provide a bit of further depth on the bench.

For Town, the biggest boost will be the return of Axel Tuanzebe following his one-match ban. Ben Godfrey struggled against Son Heung-min at the weekend but Garnacho if he does play there should be an easier threat to deal with.

I’ve seen a lot of fans talking about switching to a back five and bringing Ben Johnson back in but I think this is one of the few games this season where playing a four away from home works.

United are vulnerable to a high press with a bunch of defenders being asked to play out from the back who aren’t overly comfortable doing so. With their injuries they don’t possess a rapid winger who can cause problems in behind and as such will look to work the ball through the middle.

If Kieran McKenna does go with a four at the back I’d also like to see Conor Townsend given another chance. Davis is without doubt an excellent attacking option but has made a lot of mistakes recently. He has a tendency to overrun when defending and lose his man in the box.

In the Premier League I think he’s more suited to playing in a five whereas Townsend is the more solid and reliable option in a four where the left-back will have to do more defending. That being said, I think McKenna will stick with Davis.

The other tricky selection choice is the middle of the pitch. Kalvin Phillips and Jens Cajuste were just building some rhythm and looking like a Premier League midfield before both went off injured against Tottenham. With the quick turnaround it seems unlikely that either will be fit for Wednesday night, so it could be a return to the Championship midfield of Sam Morsy and Massimo Luongo.

I’m going with an unchanged front four but having Nathan Broadhead, Sammie Szmodics and potentially Conor Chaplin on the bench will be a big boost as substitutions could have a big say in this one.

<h1>Prediction </h1>

With Wolves pulling clear at the weekend this game has more riding on it. Unlike Tottenham, who were a top six side that suffered a bunch of injuries to end up in a false position and were able to turn out a strong side against us, United are in the middle of their injury spell, have a lower quality squad the Tottenham and are still adapting to a new style of play.

All of those factors should make this a more even game. Every Premier League game is tough and they still possess incredibly talented players, but I can see Town coming out of this with a 2-1 away win.

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