Manchester United face Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League next as the Red Devils look to keep the winning streak in the competition. The Arsenal was a hammer-blow to Solskjaer and his side after a couple of good weeks with victories against PSG and RB Leipzig. In Turkey, Solskjaer will be expected to chop and change his side as the Turkish club will probably sit back deep and defend.
Paul Pogba has been lately heavily criticized for the penalty he gave away and has been scapegoated for United’s loss. Solskjaer also got several things wrong against Arsenal and will be looking to rectify it in the game in Turkey. The Red Devils will be expected to win against Istanbul Basaksehir a win handsomely to put to Arsenal loss aside.
Let us now have a look at how Solskjaer might line his Manchester United side up against the Turkish club in the Champions League.
THE 4-4-2 (DIAMOND)
The 4-4-2 (diamond) formation has been great for Manchester United lately if Solskjaer has used the right players in the right positions. After all the criticism, Pogba is likely to miss the game in Turkey, instead, Van de Beek or Mata are likely to start. Because of the fact that Basaksehir are likely to sit deep and defend in low blocks, thus the creativity of Mata and Van de Beek will come in handy for the Red Devils.
Nemanja Matic and Fred are both very likely to start later tonight as both of them have done in their respective positions. Both the players are very important for the team as they keep the game ticking and Fred is great in a box-to-box role. Axel Tuanzebe is very likely to start tonight as the youngster will look to cement his place in the Manchester United starting XI.
Shaw and Wan-Bissaka have been playing the game in and game out and could do with a rest, but with Telles’ coronavirus, Solskjaer doesn’t have options.
THE 4-2-3-1
The 4-2-3-1 is a tried and tested system for Solskjaer and it is very likely for him to use this formation tonight. In the midfield pivot, any two of Fred, McTominay and Matic might start as they are the only defensive midfielders at Manchester United. Anthony Martial is almost guaranteed a start tonight as he is great at holding the ball up and linking up play, which no other Manchester United forward is good at.
The front-four needs to be very creative and not pacy, as spaces behind the defence will be less and Basaksehir will be probably very compact. Thus, the likes of Bruno, Mata and Van de Beek will be very important to break the low block.
THE 3-5-2
With Telles out of the squad, it is highly unlikely for Manchester United to use this system, but to increase the offensive abilities, Solskjaer might use it. This system will provide width to the Red Devils as they can fill the opposition box in numbers and use it as an advantage. But Manchester United don’t have huge figures to have a numerical advantage, thus this system is very unlikely.
