PBP: EPL - Manchester United FC vs chelsea FC - Feb 25, 2018 [R]

In the context of our recent performances and our upcomming games, if we don't win and we continue to look like we will struggle to score goals, this is what will start happening to our season;

 

Pool are 2pts behind us, Chelsea and Spurs, 3 and 4 respectively. We can't afford to lose this game. Simple as. A win here would be huge in terms of giving United a little breathing room and that extra confidence that will be needed, with Pool coming on March 10.
So let's hope that Jose and the players can step up to the plate, as they did last season when we played Chelsea at home.

 

Liverpool play West Ham first, so given David Moyes terrible record at Anfield (never won there) we will likely start the game in third.

In which case I believe;

- if we win, we go back 2nd.

- if we draw, we tie for 2nd on points with Liverpool and it depends how many 'pool beat West Ham by as to 2nd/3rd.

- if we lose, we tie Chelsea for 3rd and provided they haven't scored three or more we stay 3rd (else if they hammer us we go 4th) and Spurs who play Palace could be just a point behind in 5th.

 

For reference, when we signed Sanchez we were 3 ahead of Chelsea, 6 ahead of Liverpool and 8 ahead of Spurs.

Then we dropped 6 points in 3 games.

 

Despite the current table most of the projection systems see us as 4th in the chase for top 4 at the moment, with Chelsea as the clear 5th. Thus the stakes for this one really couldn't be higher. I suspect one way or the other this will be a match we'll look back at the end of the year and feel it had a huge influence on whether we secure that top 4 place or not.

Lots of team questions for this one. Is Bailly fit to start and would Mou return him to the team in such a huge spot? Surely Pogba reclaims his starting spot with Herrera out but does McTominay stay in the team to make it 3 in midfield again or do we return to the delusion that Lingard is a #8? We still haven't found the right mix up front since Alexis came in - can Jose finally get it working?

 

No Herrera and no Fellaini so we need to start Carrick if we want to get any sort of control in midfield.

 

The ideal team and formation for this one is as followed, so far as I'm concerned:

Dave
Valencia/AY. Bailly. Lindelof. Shaw
Mata/McTominay. Carrick. Pogba
Sanchez. Lukaku. Martial

Would be fine with AY on the right for Valencia: he did fairly well his last time out in that position and Valencia appears to be experiencing a dip in form as of late.
Bailly only figured for a few seconds since he came back and frankly do not know if he's 100% yet, but if he's good to go, I'd play him. Would play Lindelof as his partner: still believe Bailly would help him and make him better. Plus with Chelsea likely to press us high with Hazard, Willian and/or Pedro, we need players who are comfortable with the ball at their feet.
In midfield, it's been said enough times: Matic needs to sit down for a bit. His tiredness and lack of energy is obvious at this point and as such, useful where near as useful as he should/can be. With Carrick available, and haven't figured in Spain, he should be ready. This is not the type of game to chance Lingard as the 3rd CM. if Jose was bold, he ought to go with Mata in that deeper role for his passing ability, along with his creativity, but McTominay is an adequate fill in with Herrera and Fellaini still absent as well.
The front 3 picks itself and with Sanchez still failing to make a significant impact in his supposed favored position, I'd reinsert Martial out on the left and send Sanchez on the right.
If we're going to beat Chelsea, we have to break them down as they'll be very compact and organized defensively. Therefore having the dual threat on each flank with Martial and Sanchez, supporting Lukaku will help make things a bit harder on Chelsea's backline. It's all pretty simple and straightforward stuff and the absentees make some selections even easier in my opinion. Whether Jose will take a (calculated) chance remains to be seen.

 

The most we will get out of this is a point

 

Mourinho must find a way to stop Hazard once more.

www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/11257864/jose-mourinho-must-stop-eden-hazard-again-when-manchester-united-face-chelsea

 

-1/-1 draw.

 

Can Matic do the same job Ander did last year?

 

I would not bet on it under normal circumstances (Hazard is much quicker than he is and would run circles around him as it is). But Matic, right now, does not have the energy for that kind of job, in my estimation.
Jose will need to find a different way to control him. I suspect Conte will bring back one of his big midfielders, which is why I do not really want Lingard in the 3rd CM role, but for a man marking job on Hazard, he probably would be the best bet we have with Herrera not available.

 

McT was tasked with stopping Banega so more likely him to follow Hazard who wanders. Matic will protect the space in front I would imagine as with Hazard movement cant do both.

Other option is Mou goes with a back three.

 

And how did that work? Banega had time on the ball nearly all game to create and dictate possession from midfield. I wonder how that will go with a player with 10x the skill.

If we tasks McT, a kid with barely any first team experience and probably not enough talent to make it here, with stopping the best dribbler and one of the top 3 players in the league then we get what we deserve. Which will be a thorough ass kicking.

 

Having McTominay man mark Hazard really would not be a good idea. He did not play as bad as it's made out to be in some quarters, but it certainly is not an endorsement on him staying with Hazard either.
If it was a guarantee that Conte will keep the same midfield he did vs Barca (Cesc and Kante), then I would have no problems with Lingard being Pogba and Matic/Carrick's partner Sunday.
And in that capacity, have him man mark Hazard, as previously noted, makes complete sense and would be the way to go. It stands to reason that Conte will go the more cautious route and go for a midfield set up for containment, with either Bakayoko or Drinkwater starting alongside Kante (which honestly would be better for us than having Cesc in there especially with the former, given how error prone he's been).
And who knows, maybe Jose goes with Lingard and hopes that his movement offensively and his ability to open up channels for others, could be what we need (on top of him looking after Hazard and try to nullify him).

 

When you are tasked to mark a player is different to pressing the ball. When you are marking that specific player you need to be physical, hard on tackle, intimidate him, talk trash. McT does not look like he does that.

He is good to run around and press a specific area.

Also the notion that McT is not going to make it here does not hold up as Mou has shown great confidence in him.

 

McT isnt ideal, but of our fit CMs is the best option and if playing right #6 or right #8 will be up against Hazard anyway.

@Ashur In no universe is Lingard a DCM - you are having a laugh

 

Who said anything about playing him as a DCM? Never even remotely said anything of the sort...
Lingard would be the 8/B2B guy next to Pogba (a position he's played with varying degrees of success as of late). Carrick preferably or Matic would be the DCM of the team. I clearly outlined what his function might be, especially with an eye towards a possible man marking job on Hazard as he's the only one who might have a chance of actually stay with him consistently.
Something I just don't see McTominay being able to do and if he's Jose's choice, our strategy in regards to Hazard would have to be completely different.

 

Cool - so Hazard isnt going to venture into our final third

 

It would be a specialized and one off role for this game, if it's the strategy Jose is looking to pursue in regards to Hazard. It would be extremely demanding with Hazard being so quick and constantly on the move, but Lingard should be relatively fresh, having played little in recent games.
If Jones was available, I could see him getting the job, but he's hurt and won't play. Nothing we've seen from McTominay suggests he could handle that responsibility. Can't really imagine Matic, Pogba or definitely not Carrick being effective man marking Hazard.
Really not sure what it so hard to grasp here...

 

Hazard is no deep lying playmaker, he is more a false 9. So marking him more a job for a #6 or a CB for me (said in my op that 3 cb is alternative).

Agree that Carrick / Matic not mobile enough.

Even agree that McT not ideal but we are out of fit CM alternatives at this point. McT (an #8) is closest we have to another #6.

Lingard is a #10 / wing forward. He is no #8, certainly no #6. Expecting him to follow a false #9 / support striker / wing forward who will operate in our final third is a big stretch and asking for trouble IMO.

 

Lingard is not an 8 nominally, but Jose has deployed him deeper in his most recent starts. If he is intent on having someone man mark Hazard, he still appears the best candidate. The only fit CB we have I trust with that job would be Bailly, possibly, and I'm not sure I'd want him in that role, leaving Smalling and/or Lindelof left to deal with the other threats.
As mentioned earlier though, with the likes of Herrera and Jones not available, it just might be in Jose's best interest to forego the idea of man marking Hazard altogether. But if it's not in his plans, Lingard is still the one I would be most comfortable with, out of the players on hand.

 

Best way to handle hazard is to unleash Pogba, martial and Sanchez. Make Chelsea defend the other way without rigging some half baked system.

 

Lmao
Matic runs at 4mph while hazard runs at 100 mph