Premier League 2018-19: How Manchester United should line up against Wolves
Manchester United finally have the right man at the helm of the club and are back to winning ways. Things couldn’t have gone better for the management than how they are going at the moment.
Though the win against Watford wasn’t pretty, the team showed that they have what it takes to grind out results. That particular trait will be important for them as they seek to finish in one of the hotly contested Champions League spots.
Against Wolves, the team is going to face one of the toughest teams that are outside the top six of the Premier League this season. Already in the FA Cup Wolves showed Manchester United that they simply aren’t pushovers, as they eliminated the Red Devils.
Wolves will come into this game knowing fully well that they can win it, and that will be a confident booster for them. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have to put in a side that will take the game to the hosts from the first whistle.
Here’s how United should line up against Wolves in a 4-3-3 formation that can easily change to a 4-4-2 diamond at any point in the game:
David De Gea will retain his position as the goalkeeper as there is no need to change that. Unless there’s an injury or any other emergency, he’ll keep goal for this game.
The defence has been pretty solid of late, and the manager seems to have found a team that works at the back. Victor Lindelof was excused from the game against Watford due to family issues, and he should be back for this tie.
Ashley Young’s form hasn’t been great of late and one may wonder when Solskjaer is going to drop him and start Diogo Dalot instead. Other than that, the rest of the three positions pick themselves.
Ashley Young, Chris Smalling, Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw.
The midfield is not expected to change one bit; it has worked incredibly well for Solskjaer since he has come to the club. That said, in recent matches the three men haven’t shown the kind of form that has been expected of them.
Still, they are expected to continue being in the starting lineup, and they would hope they can resume where they left off before Matic and Herrera got injured.
Ander Herrera, Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba
The forward line is where Solskjaer will have his work cut out as to who to select to start the game. All his forwards offer something different and though they aren’t at their best, they can still perform.
One of the forward positions is to be occupied by a player that can drop deep inside and let the strikers split. The person that has been able to do that effectively for Solskjaer has been Jesse Lingard, and he should be allowed to build on his fitness from now on.
The last positions should be between Romelu Lukaku, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial. Rashford has played quite a large number of games of late and should be given a breather. Lukaku should be allowed to partner Martial in this tie.
Jesse Lingard, Romelu Lukaku, Anthony Martial
Here’s how the United should likely line up against Wolves:
