Manchester United have had a terrible start to the season, with two losses already in only three games in the Premier League. Solskjaer will be hoping from his players to come back strong after the humiliating loss against Tottenham at Old Trafford. The Norwegian is expected to make a few changes to his starting XI as well as the formation and roles in the team against Newcastle.
With Anthony Martial out suspended for three games due to the red card against Tottenham and Edinson Cavani still in quarantine, Solskjaer will have to think out of the box. Harry Maguire has also been very poor lately and even got a red card playing for England last night. It will be interesting to see what formation and personnel Solskjaer chooses for the next game.
Let us know have a look at how Manchester United might lineup against Newcastle United in the weekend, in the Premier League.
THE 3-5-2
Though Solskjaer uses the 3-5-2 in only big games, looking at the team available to him this might be this option for the Norwegian. The 3-5-2 will also ensure that United are solid defensively, as Maguire, Shaw, Lindelof and Bailly have all had poor starts to the season. Alex Telles will be the one to watch out for in this formation, as his attacking prowess would come into display in what might be his first game for the Red Devils.
The selection in the midfield pivot will be interesting though and Solskjaer might end up using Fred, Bruno and Pogba or even Matic, Van de Beek and Bruno. In such a formation the front-men will be obvious and the United boss will probably go with Greenwood and Rashford, instead of Ighalo.
THE 4-4-2 (DIAMOND)
If there was any game the 4-4-2 (diamond) would have been perfect, it is the game against Newcastle. The Magpies play a deep-lying defence and United’s midfielders, especially Bruno, Pogba and Van de Beek might enjoy with each other against Newcastle. The left-back spot might be taken off Shaw as Telles is in good form as seen in his games for his nation Brazil.
But the centre-back pairing will surely be a subject of headache for Solskjaer as none of them have performed well this season. Maguire has been awful since the beginning of the season and sighting his problems, he should be dropped. But knowing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, it would be hard to imaging Maguire not starting for the Red Devils irrespective of his form.
THE 4-2-3-1
The 4-2-3-1 has been Solskjaer’s most used formation at Manchester United, but it is unlikely to be used in the weekend, due to lack of personnel. The front-line will be the main cause of the problem in such a formation as Martial and Cavani are out of the game, and Ighalo has been poor lately. Even if Greenwood or Rashford play as the centre-forward, their original positions will be vacated and United don’t have a proper replacement.
Newcastle have a tight defence and a compact midfield, thus United will need the creative likes of Bruno Van de Beek and Pogba to unlock the defence.
