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Edited 9-14-2017 14:07 by Nemanja77
Big game tomorrow:
(http://www.manutd.com/en/Fixtures-And-Results....aspx)After that, we have three more games away, in only 6 days (18-24 October against Benfica, Huddersfield and Swansea).
Coming home, we've got two tricky games in three days (28 and 31 Oct, against Spurs and Benfica again), therefore a full schedule, not so easy as it was at the start of the season.
Any thoughts? Comments?
Personally, I don't like those games after the international break, but I think and hope we are in a good situation and better form than Liverpool. Some of our players have luckily missed the international games, so they will be fresh for Anfield game. Martial and Herrera first of all, have a good occasion to prove they deserve to be in our first 11. Hope they will actually do that.
I'm expecting us to play cautiously and on the counter. We know how well Liverpools attack works if they're afforded space and I think we won't see that.
I think the team is quite mature in terms of understanding the Jose-way and thus will be solid defensively and that will be tough for Liverpool. In attack I suspect we'll take advantage of their weaknesses and score at least one. The players we have in attack have done really well and I expect that to continue.
As for the timing of this fixture being just after the international break - well, I hope they change the international schedule so that all the internationals get played at some point either during a season or before/after the season. But until then it's just something we can't really do much about.
This time around I think we were better off than Liverpool as they had more players coming back from the other end of the world. We basically had Valencia plus some European players, they had Coutinho, Firmino, Mane, Matip and Salah coming from other continents, although I haven't looked where in Africa the last three played. In the end I think it doesn't matter that much. This is a big game and they'll be ready for it anyway.
I think we're favorites tomorrow, because we've just been so solid until now.
As for the other games - it's just the normal calendar for football IMO. We usually see two games per week for nearly all the season anyway. Huddersfield is closer to Manchester than Liverpool so it's not really a significant trip in terms of getting tired or smth. So it's nothing special IMO.
The only worry against Liverpool for me is the lack of a third midfield option. We're probably going to line up with Matic and Herrera as CMs(which is great) and then Miki as a number 10? Defensively - is Miki good enough there? We are probably going to be without the ball for significant amounts of time and hopefully he will do well there. Fortunately it's not a big issue and I wouldn't be surprised to see Lingard start as the more advanced midfielder 'doing a job' as he is disciplined and sort of exactly in the squad to play a role in such games IMO.
I'm not sure Rashford and Martial will both start, but then again I'm not worried, because either of them coming on after an hour against a tiring Joe Gomez is going to be fun :). I think we'll see Mata on the right from the start.
It will be important that we keep calm at the start and manage to control the first 10-15 minutes, when Liverpool will probably try to have a flying start and use the atmosphere on the stadium to make pressure on us. If we can hold them off at the first impact, we will be able to take control of the match, don't let them any space behind our lines, frustrate them and then use the space they will leave for our counter attacks.
Mourinho might start this game with three central defenders, probably (from left to right) Darmian, Smalling (if Jones is not fit) and Bailly. Young and Valencia would have a bit more freedom to push forward, Matic and Herrera would be sitting in front of the defence and then there would be Miki, Lingard and Lukaku upfront. This would be a very defensive lineup, but not bad for this kind of game. However, I think Jose' will put at least one from Martial and Rashford between the starting 11. For example, the same side I mentioned above with Martial instead of Lingard. This way, Martial would be able to exploit spaces not just on the wing, but also through the middle and combine with Miki and Lukaku on the counter. He would have a good support from Young on the left and therefore will be able to get closer to the goal.
Yeah, the 3-5-2 is an option as well of course. I feel a bit like Miki's position is in danger and not Rashfords/Martials and Lingard might play ahead of Miki. Because Rashford and Martial will certainly be dangerous while Mkhitaryan needs someone else to support him to be dangerous and at Anfield I think we'll have fewer attacks where we manage to get a lot of players upfield. More likely we'll have 2-4 players breaking into space and there Miki perhaps isn't as effective. He can be effective, because he is deceptively quick, but the question is whether he has earned the trust of Jose defensively for big games since the first third of last season.
I think it's quite likely that your proposed formation will start. I'm not sure about Darmian, I think Lindelöf might start ahead of him(if Jones isn't fit) because he is a centre back, better on the ball and probably just overall a better player.
Will be an interesting match.
Good point yesterday IMO. Two fit inner mids in Herrera and Matic, packed fixture list coming up, and one or two decent chances carved out.
7 points behind, Liverpool needed a win and end the day 7 points behind. They should have won so that should have felt like two points dropped.
Take the point, take the clean sheet, stay unbeaten and beat Huddersfield next weekend.
"Now tip toe around a lost cause,
Because a lost cause found,
Don't mean you found a cause,
That means you found a lost cause."
~Aesop Rock~
In the big picture it's a decent point. But I'd say we were slightly underwhelming on the ball. Missed Pogba a lot. Or even the Fellaini of the last month - he would've eased pressure and got us further up the pitch. And made us more dangerous during set plays(which were also poorer than expected).
Overall - defense did well, attack.. I hoped for more.
chuksi wrote:
In the big picture it's a decent point. But I'd say we were slightly underwhelming on the ball. Missed Pogba a lot. Or even the Fellaini of the last month - he would've eased pressure and got us further up the pitch. And made us more dangerous during set plays(which were also poorer than expected).
Overall - defense did well, attack.. I hoped for more.
Fair. Pogba creates a lot of chances, I'm hoping he comes back in the next couple matches, but with hamstrings it is always better safe than sorry.
"Now tip toe around a lost cause,
Because a lost cause found,
Don't mean you found a cause,
That means you found a lost cause."
~Aesop Rock~
I think the plan was to soak up pressure and hit Liverpool with a counter, and while the defending part was ok, the passing beyond United's third was atrocious. I frankly can't remember the last game where I saw so many missplaced passes, so many balls blasted in no-man's-land and outside the field. Because of that, the only chance the team got was Lukaku's and if he had scored now we would be talking about how brilliant the gameplan was and the team performed :P Praise de Gea!
Thought this quote was weird as well. That's one of the reasons why I hoped we'd appoint someone else. Jose is a short term solution and perhaps even needed right now, but not ideal at all.
The problem is that I don't see a great solution out there right now. I guess we won't see someone managing United for a longer period any time soon. Pochettino might be the only one that could manage long term. The only chance of him leaving Spurs seems to be if his ambition is bigger than the club's. If Kane and Alli leave and they can't replace them, then who knows... Who knows.. it might happen.