MANCHESTER UNITED'S RECENT WINNING STREAK TO PLAY A FACTOR AT ETIHAD
Three wins and one draw in the past four games. Not a bad way for Manchester United to handle this seasons Premier League campaign. With the addition of the huge, impressive, victory over the Champions League Juventus this past Wednesday. Jose Mourinho’s men might not always be firing on all cylinders in the way the team is playing in the sense that the current Manchester United team might not always be playing the level of quality attacking football people have come to expect from the traditional Manchester United team. But Jose Mourinho has started to show what Manchester United are capable of by picking up massive victories when they count in both the Premier League and the Champions league competitions. Manchester United might not always be fancy but Manchester United have proven they can be fancy when Manchester United want to be fancy.
Mourinho team have had impressive performances in the UEFA Champions League so far this season and Manchester United keeps climbing up the Premier League table which points to the fact that Manchester United are getting the points needed to succeed. Truth be told, at the end of the day, the points are what really matters. Will the fans love to see Manchester United play more attacking football more frequently? Absolutely. However, here is the theory Jose Mourinho appears to be operating on: you don’t always need to be flashy to win games. A team can be flashy on one or two games, then operate with boring-defensive football in the next couple of games and still emerge with sufficient points from all the games. The premise of “points are all that matters”seems to be working very well for Manchester United so far and Jose Mourinho appears ever so willing to use this recent Offensive football one period, defensive- hold the ball on your own half the next period - approach to get good result recently so why not continue to use a strategy which has proven to be effective for Manchester United? Keep at it and see how far the offense-defense style of football takes the team this season.
Manchester United will need their new Offence-Defence style of football to tackle the next couple of games in the clubs schedule include tonight's ever important match against bitter Derby rivals Manchester City. Manchester City has been ever so resilient in the way the Blues have started the season and a huge part of Manchester City’s start of the season has to go to the level of quality dominating Manchester City’s attack. The plan for Manchester City will be to attack frequently but also to defend constantly at the Etihad Stadium this weekend, there is really no secret there.
Pep Guardiola's have simply started this season on high by simply playing with the same level of high intensity the team from the blue side of Manchester crowned champions last season by simply dominating their opponents and taking a firm grasp of lead position on top of the Premier League table. The truth is simple, Manchester City’s form at the early part of the season have simply elevated the club into a position which, once again, recognizes Pep Guardiola's men as the number one team to beat this season. Therefore, for Manchester United to have any strong belief of beating Manchester City to the Premier League trophy at the end of the season, the logical conclusion might suggest that nothing less than a point has to be the objective for Jose Mourinho this weekend. With that said, expectations from Manchester United should not lay on the terms of a win or burst scenario at Etihad this weekend.
Spectators have to be realistic when comparing their expectations of Manchester United to the each game the club plays: the level of result demanded from Manchester United against opponents such as Burnley, Young Boys and possibly Valencia cannot be on the level of results expected from the current Manchester United against high caliber teams Manchester City, Barcelona or Juventus. These teams are clearly operating on a higher level compared to Manchester United. Therefore, at some point during matches against the big clubs, contingency plans such as defensive- possession football with minimum attacking football have to come into play to avoid losses.
Players, to keep an eye out for that will pose a threat to Manchester United this weekend? Try all eleven Manchester City players involved in the derby this weekend and yes that does include Manchester City’s impressive goalkeeper Edison because that is the level of top-notch football Manchester City appears to be operating on once again this season. Because of the high tempo Manchester city seem to be operating with, most football fans might have some expectation of Pep Guardiola's team to run out of steam during the middle as a result of high demands that come attached with a team fighting to win two trophies from two of Europes most elite competition : The English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League competitions. Therefore, the Manchester United team and the Manchester United supporters must endeavor to remember that one Derby result cannot define the rest of the entire season for Manchester United. Surely, Jose Mourinho`s men will emerge from the tunnels into the field with the will and the quality to compete for victory this weekend. However, the Manchester United team and the Manchester United supporters must remember that whatever the result might be at the end of this weekends Manchester derby, Manchester United's season does not end with one result so early on in the season.
It`s no secret that Manchester City`s main operating source of attack comes from four major players in the pitch namely, LeRoy Sane, Raheem Sterling, David Silver and of course, Sergio Aguero. These four players have been pivotal to the level of success Manchester City have achieved and the success Manchester City continues to achieve to with each passing game Manchester City plays this season. The question now becomes: how should Manchester United approach this weekends derby and which Manchester United players should be included in the starting XI ? should Jose Mourinho deploy an offensive strategy or should Jose Mourinho avoid being rash and use a defensive strategy to soak up Manchester City`s pressure then Manchester United responds with quality levels of attacks of their own.
So the question now is how can Manchester United subdue Manchester City’s attacking threat this upcoming weekend? One option will be to counter with a strong attacking midfield rather than a completely defensive one against Manchester City this weekend. This past Wednesdays huge UEFA Champions League clash saw Manchester United claim a big victory over this seasons favorites to win the Champions League Juventus in Juventus on home ground Turin. The game was not particularly one where Manchester United dominated the game but what the victory against Juventus showed for Manchester United is simply that Manchester United play better or Manchester United operate better when there are on the attack and two attacking midfielders with one defensive midfielder in this weekend's Manchester Derby should be the best option for Manchester United to take come this Sunday.
Through recent evidence of the few numbers of matches the trio have been involved in this season, reasonable arguments can be made on the idea that the combination of Fred, Paul Pogba and Andreas Pereira might be Manchester United's strongest form of an attacking midfield so far this season. Therefore, logic dictates that Jose Mourinho starting lineup this Sunday should consist of Pogba(Questionable), Fred and Perera. Fred and Andreas Pereira have been a subject of small controversies this season as questions on why the duo has not made enough appearances continue to rise without a response.
Matic and Herrera have been undoubtedly impressive but another for Manchester United to match Manchester City`s creative strength and Manchester City`s pace in the midfield this Sunday, Fred and Andreas Perera might be the best partners with Paul Pogba in the midfield in the derby this weekend.
