Manchester United FC are set to start their Premier League campaign on Saturday against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. The Red Devils have had a terrible summer transfer window, as the club has signed only one player and has offloaded only Alexis Sanchez. Thus, the size of the squad now is huge, but United have only a handful of world-class players.
It was believed that United would revamp their squad this summer to challenge the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City. But with only Van de Beek’s signing, United are far from being a finished product. The Dutch international has surely added depth and quality to United but the Red Devils need much more than just one signing.
But with almost the entire squad at Solskjaer’s disposal, the manager will have a tough time picking his matchday squad for Saturday. On the other hand, Crystal Palace will be etching to take all the three points away from the Red Devils. But it is expected of United to win the game, especially with all the important players fit after a much-needed vacation.
Let us now have a look at how United might lineup against Crystal Palace.
THE 4-2-3-1
The 4-2-3-1 was Solskjaer’s most used formation last season, even though he changed the personnel quite a bit. But since the restart, the Norwegian has stuck to this formation in the Premier League with this particular starting XI. This formation and the presence of Nemanja Matic give Paul Pogba the freedom he wants and thrive on going forward and distributing balls from the back.
The comeback of Luke Shaw to United’s starting XI will be music to the ears of Marcus Rashford, as the winger has struggled whenever Shaw has been injured. Shaw’s selfless running down the left flank has gone under-appreciated at United as the full-back has been dearly missed while he was injured. Captain Harry Maguire also has a point to prove, after all that happened in Greece during his vacation.
THE 4-4-2(DIAMOND)
There is a possibility that Solskjaer might be tempted to use the 4-4-2 diamond formation, to fit in all the best midfielders in the squad. The likes of Matic, Pogba, Van de Beek and Bruno can all only be fitted in such a formation, which makes it a possibility against the Eagles. But the problem in such a formation is that the forwards’ qualities aren’t completely used.
In such a system, the full-backs will need to be higher up the pitch, to provide the width, as the wide midfielders will move in-field. The likes of Wan Bisakka might not find the formation suitable to his game, as he isn’t the best going forward. Crystal Palace plays with wide wingers, and thus this formation might be suicidal to use against the Eagles on Saturday.
THE 3-5-2
Although highly unlikely, Solskjaer might use the defensive approach in the first game of the season to ensure a clean-sheet. In such a formation, the onus of attack mainly falls on the shoulders of the wing-backs’ crossing abilities, which isn’t Wan Bisakka’s forte though. But Brandon Williams and Luke Shaw have been fantastic down the left side, whenever both of them have played together in a back-three.
The 3-5-2 would be very defensive looking at Crystal Palace’s team and United are better off with their attack than their defence. The formation would also not allow the likes of Pogba to go forward with freedom, as he would be having a lot of defensive duties to complete. Looking at Crystal Palace’s playing style, it is expected of United to attack the Eagles from the onset.
