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Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

Reports during pre-season on expected 1st team Line-Ups for clubs in the English Premier League
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FootballWriter1
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Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

Post by FootballWriter1 »

Report below written 29 July. Further updates to come in the run-up to Man United's opening match away to Bournemouth on Sunday 14 Aug at 1:30pm.

Club Review

Manchester United suffered a huge blow to their history in the period when Sir Alex left. Poor David Moyes was next and was called „The Chosen One“ but let's be honest, he had the toughest job ever in that moment. All eyes of the world were looking at him, and he just couldn't handle the pressure, he is just not the champion type of Manager and that was one of the few mistakes that Sir Alex made when he chose him. That season was a mess, expectation of the fans went from winning the title to barely qualifying for Europe. There was no other choice but to fire David. Fans were furious and were expecting some big name to get the club back on big stages and they got one. Louis Van Gaal, leading the Netherlands in the World Cup to 3rd place and the expectations of the fans were high again. What to say after the move to buy Angel Di Maria, the fans were just delighted. But soon after the season started, all hopes were back at the same level as they were under David Moyes. Two “painful” seasons for Manchester United fans to watch and to cheer for the biggest supported English club. Fans will give Louis credit for winning the FA Cup and beating Liverpool in almost every game played, but that wasn’t enough for him to stay. It would may be enough in some other clubs, but a club like Manchester United wants more.

Which leads us to the present. Finally United fans have something to cheer about. Personally me, as a United fan I am delighted to see Jose Mourinho as a new manager. I don’t expect him to win the league, Europa League and Cups all in one season, I just wanted him because he is a maybe the biggest name in manager position today and he will definitely bring the “big fishes” back to red side of Manchester. He has a lot of influence in the world of football and he started in a big way in the first moment he came. Yes, he is arrogant, has a lot of self-confidence but you can be like that if you have results to back you up. And he surely has that. From the first moment he started, bringing Manchester United to the way they belong to be, signing world class players such as Henrikh Mkhitaryan, kid Erik Bailly and the one and only Zlatan Ibrahimovic. There is no Manchester United like it used to be under Sir Alex, signing young unproved players and making stars of them, there is no more of that in football either. United turned themselves into the direction of every club that is winning titles nowadays and that is spending a lot of money, just like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich etc. Now that United is just few days away of signing Paul Pogba back, making him the most expensive player ever, United fans can be sure that the club is going in the right direction again. Only thing now left for Jose is to sign just one more PROVEN and EXPERIENCED defender and his transfer work is done.

Expectation for tactics that Mourinho will play in this upcoming season are 4-2-3-1 that he already showed in preason games against Wigan and Dortmund. Here are the players that will most likely be his first choice and their substitutes.

Defence

Well, Louis Van Gaal did make two great moves while being the coach of Manchester United and those are signing Anthony Martial who was a star in the first season in United kit and of course keeping currently probably the best goalkeeper in the world David de Gea. David de Gea will be one of the key players in Mourinho’s system for the upcoming season and he can finally be happy with the players he has in front of himself. De Gea winning the player of the season award for previous three years is definitely showing what kind of football were United playing. Last season with defenders in front of him such as Blind, Rojo, the injured Jones and the only one really worth mentioning Smalling, he recorded 15 clean sheets in the Premier League. With the expected improvement this season, first of all getting rid of that Van Gaal philosophy, getting Bailly and another defender in a big chance, also Blind and Rojo not playing that position next season, I can see de Gea getting over 20 clean sheets. Last player to do so, was the great Van der Sar getting 21 clean sheet in 2008/2009 season and for all fantasy football players he is the one to get for sure.

Defence for United was and is their biggest problem. We know that Mourinho is a fan of defensive tactics and this part of United squad will have to improve massively. After Ferdinand-Vidic duo, that was one of the best defensive duos in the history of football, United have struggled a lot to find safe and confident defender. Jones was very promising but he is very injury prone, missing a big part of his career due to injuries and I think Jose won’t have him in his plans a lot. Due to Jose’s defensive tactics I think that the player that will profit the most is Chris Smalling (although he misses the first match due a red card in the FA Cup Final). He has shown the past two seasons that we can count on him and that he can turn into one of the best centre backs in the world. In a pair with young and unknown player that is Eric Bailly, United defence looks to have many question marks and it's unknown how will they react and play. Although Bailly showed he is very strong and also very good with the ball, he has no experience playing on big stages, and there is no bigger stage than playing for Manchester United. For the right back there are Darmian, more defensive player, and Valencia who plays very offensively and takes every chance to go forward and that cost United in situations last season. Luke Shaw will definitely be a big factor in Mourinho’s defence. Two years ago, the most paid teenager in the history of football, came from Southampton to Manchester United. He had a horrific injury last season, when he broke his leg in a match against PSV. He came back in preseason matches against Dortmund and Wigan but you could see he has not got rid of that fear, but as the time passes he will be fitter and have more confidence. He could be a player who will play a lot of games this season, because his substitute Rojo didn’t impress Mourinho at the preseason. He is definitely a player who you should pay attention to when buying players on that left back position.

Midfield

With the arrival of Pogba, United will have one of the best midfield players there are. Pogba, combined with Herrera or more defensive tactics with Carrick or Schneiderlin (possibly on his way out of MU). Pogba will add genuine class when the transfer is complete, but other players also need to step up. Pogba will have the same role at United as he had at France National team. He will play more defensive style, all to doing good for the team. Biggest mystery is Ander Herrera. When he came from Athletic Bilbao, many fans called him the new Scholes but he hadn’t lived up to his expectations. This will be his breakthrough season and it’s up to him and the manager of course to show us does he deserve to wear United kit. Others worth mentioning are Daley Blind, Michael Carrick and Morgan Schneiderlin (the latter rumoured to be on his way out even after retiring from the Germany team) . Blind is a type of player that suits Mourinho the best. Van Gaal played him in a bad position and that caused him to have some bad games and to be one of the more disliked current players amongst United fans. But playing in his natural position, defensive midfielder he will show what kind of player he is. Amazing vision, great positioning and absolutely stunning feeling for assist is what makes him the player that Jose will use a lot in a pair with Paul Pogba. In more difficult games and derbies I think Mourinho will go with more defensive tactics and playing natural defensive midfielders which are Schneiderlin (if still here) and Carrick.

Attack

And we finally we look at the final four. Mkhitaryan-Rooney-Martial and in the front Ibrahimovic. Henrikh Mkhitaryan, one of the biggest transfer targets for Manchester United this summer, will be a key player for United attack. His amazing skills, vision, passing are the thing that United fans are desperately seeking to watch. He had amazing season in Dortmund, finishing as Bundesliga top assister and voted as a best player. We will see how good will he adopt to Premier League standards, to new environment and to new teammates. I’m expecting to see from him the same things that he did in Dortmund, having a lot of assists and creating a big number of chances. As Mourninho already said, the era of Wayne Rooney playing in midfield is over. He will be the main player for fake 10 position and playing just behind Ibrahimovic. Rooney is expected to bring his captain role, to make every player on the pitch better and to score some goals using the fact that opposition defenses will be marking Zlatan as main target. After a very bad Euro Cup for Martial, where he only played minutes and got absolutely no chances to show his talent, Martial is looking for another and even better season in Manchester. After signing him for 50 milion Euros, a lot of fans were skeptical if we made a good move on 19 years old kid. Martial silenced his critics after his first game when he came in and scored a magnificent goal against Liverpool. From that moment, he just got better as days were passing and scored 17 goals along with 8 assists in his first season, as a 20 years old kid as a Manchester United player. He was United’s main player in attack and all the pressure was on him. This year that he has a much better teammates and a freedom in his game, I think he will finish as Mourinho’s key player with most goals scored. He is the player you should buy and count on in fantasy football.

And the last but not the least, one and only, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. A player with an unbelievable career, winning a lot of league titles, being a main scorer so many times but also 35-years old. I can’t tell who is more arrogant between him and Mourinho but as I said, when you have a career and results like these two do, than you have every right to be like that. Only thing that is 100% sure is that Ibrahimovic will “die” for Mourinho and will definitely come to play and win for United. United's season will depend a lot on his playing time and shape, obviously it will not be so easy for him to score as he did in France, but when you have a player like that, even on one season, you must expect big things to happen. Although he is 35 years old, Zlatan has such a force, strength and skills. I expect nothing less than around 25 goals for him, fighting for that number 1 goal scorer spot with Martial. Other players worth of mentioning are Depay, Mata, Young and young Rashford. This is the season “do or die” for Depay, he will surely get his chance and it’s all up to him to prove that 30 million spent on him are well invested money. I’m not sure of how many playing time will Mata get, but he is a brilliant player when playing on his fake 10 position. He can be very useful piece in Mourinho’s puzzle but I don’t think he will get a lot of playing time as he had under Van Gaal. Rashford is a young diamond and I think every football fan in the world will agree with that. I don’t expect him to play that much, maybe in Cup games, when Zlatan is resting and when United are chasing the game.

Summary

For conclusion I think United will finish in the top 2 of Premier League this season and make a good run in the Europa League. Mourinho will most likely use 4-2-3-1 formation as he has done so far in pre-season:

1.
De Gea
Darmian Bailly Smalling(but misses the 1st match) Shaw
Pogba Herrera
Martial Rooney Mkhitaryan
Ibrahimovic

2.
De Gea
Valencia Jones Smalling(but misses the 1st match) Shaw
Blind
Martial Pogba Mkhitaryan
Rooney Ibrahimovic

Players to watch and buy for fantasy football : David de Gea, Chris Smalling, Luke Shaw, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial.

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Re: Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

Post by FootballWriter1 »

Pre-season games:

16 July: Wigan 0-2 Manchester United. Goals: Keane, Pereira

22 July: Manchester United 1-4 Borussia Dortmund (China). Goal: Mkhitaryan

25 July: Manchester United P-P Manchester City (China)

30 July: Manchester United 5-2 Galatasaray (Sweden) Goals: Ibrahimovic, Rooney 2, Fellaini, Mata

3 August: Everton - Wayne Rooney Testimonial (Old Trafford)

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Re: Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

Post by admin »

Current injuries for opening match:

Smalling (1 match ban)

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Re: Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

Post by admin »

Man Utd's 1st 10 fixtures:

Bournemouth V Man Utd
Sun 14 Aug 13:30
Man Utd V Southampton
Fri 19 Aug 20:00
Hull V Man Utd
Sat 27 Aug 17:30
Man Utd V Man City
Sat 10 Sep 12:30
Watford V Man Utd
Sun 18 Sep 12:00
Man Utd V Leicester
Sat 24 Sep 12:30
Man Utd V Stoke
Sat 1 Oct 15:00
Liverpool V Man Utd
Sat 15 Oct 15:00
Chelsea V Man Utd
Sat 22 Oct 15:00
Man Utd V Burnley
Sat 29 Oct 15:00

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Re: Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

Post by FootballWriter1 »

Jose Mourinho had press conference today and this is a recap :

Mourinho says Schweinsteiger is not in his plans, therefore him training with the reserves is normal.
Refused to talk about Pogba because he is still a Juventus player. Says he doesnt like managers speaking about other club's players.
Once again lamented United's poor pre-season schedule and "a week of no work in China" that was bad for his squad.
Jose says he is finding it challenging to change learned behaviour in his players from Louis van Gaal's methods.
Says he is pleased with his side's transfer window and confirms they are about to sign "a very good midfielder".

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Re: Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

Post by FootballWriter1 »

Community Shield 2016 : Manchester United - Leicester

Manchester United starting XI: De Gea, Valencia, Bailly, Blind, Shaw, Carrick, Fellaini, Lingard, Ibrahimovic, Rooney, Martial

Manchester United have confirmed that Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been given permission to have a medical.

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Re: Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

Post by admin »

In the first half the ones standing out for me were Lingard not just for his impressive goal and Bailly, Shaw and Valencia in defence.

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Re: Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

Post by admin »

Shaw tired replaced by Rojo. Lingard hobbled off with knock to ankle/foot replaced by Mata who himself was subbed late on. Zlatan powerful in the air and took his chance well.

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Re: Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

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TODAY WAS A GREAT DAY FOR UNITED FANS :
Manchester United have won their first trophy of the season, beating Leicester in the Community Shield 2-1. Jese Lingard scored beautiful goal in first half by dribbling past several Leicester players and eventually scoring past Schmeichel. Vardy scored in the second half and tied the score after a huge mistake by Fellaini. The first trophy for United in new season was secured by who else than Zlatan Ibrahimovic, scoring just 7 minutes before the end.

£89m Pogba to have Utd medical :
Manchester United have confirmed that Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been given permission to have a medical.

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Re: Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

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Paul Pogba has passed his medical and is expected to be presented tomorrow as new Manchester United player.

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Re: Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

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As I said yesterday and now it's official : Manchester United have completed the transfer of Paul Pogba from Juventus for a world-record transfer fee of £89m.

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Re: Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

Post by FootballWriter1 »

Juan Mata is likely to remain at Manchester United beyond the current transfer window, but Bastian Schweinsteiger will definitely change the destination.


Sunderland have agreed a fee with Manchester United for defenders Paddy McNair and Donald Love, Sky sources say.

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Re: RE: Re: Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

Post by murf »

FootballWriter1 wrote:Juan Mata is likely to remain at Manchester United beyond the current transfer window, but Bastian Schweinsteiger will definitely change the destination.
Que?

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Re: Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

Post by The Real Slim Shady »

Valencia ahead of Darmian atm I reckon. Got a bag of assists during pre season, also in the CS so doubt Mourinho will change things around at RB.

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Re: Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

Post by morganb »

The FA has now confirmed that Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is suspended for Sunday's game with Bournemouth, because he was booked twice in last season's Italian Cup.

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Re: Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

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FootballWriter1 wrote:Community Shield 2016 : Manchester United - Leicester

Manchester United starting XI: De Gea, Valencia, Bailly, Blind, Shaw, Carrick, Fellaini, Lingard, Ibrahimovic, Rooney, Martial
Chances are this will be the starting line-up tomorrow at Bournemouth. Mkhitaryan to come on in AM (or replace Lingard if he hasn't recovered from his foot injury) and Herrera for Carrick or Fellaini and also Rashford for Zlatan during the match. Expect Smalling to replace Blind in CB after this match with Blind displacing Carrick in midfield and also Pogba to displace Fellaini(?) after also serving his 1 match ban.

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Re: Manchester United - Expected Line-Up 14 Aug 2016

Post by admin »

The line-up was:

D de Gea, L Valencia, E Bailly, D Blind, L Shaw, M Fellaini, J Mata (H Mkhitaryan, 75), A Herrera yellow card, W Rooney (M Depay, 89), A Martial (M Schneiderlin, 85), Z Ibrahimovic

Subs not used: M Rojo, S Romero, M Carrick, M Rashford

No injuries and Smalling, Lingard & Pogba all now available and should play some part tonight.

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