Lammens
Mazraoui de Ligt* Shaw
Amad Bruno Casemiro Dalot
Mbuemo Mount
Cunha
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Subs: Heaven/Yoro, Mainoo, Zirkzee, Ugarte
Probably the best we can go for at the moment. Could be de Ligt, Heaven, Yoro, or Maguire at CCB. Whoever is fit and playing the best. We should probably try to use Mazraoui, Amad, and Mbuemo for possibly the whole game (unless there's an agreement with National Teams to sub them if we're in a realistic position to do so). So, if we can, I'd rather we sub off Cunha, Mount, Casemiro etc and move the position for the three leaving for AfCon after this).
I think we might need to try Shaw at LWB at some point in this game. Move Dalot to RWB and Amad to one of the no.10 roles, bringing Martinez on for a longer stint (30 mins~). I think the best back 5 might be: Dalot - Yoro - de Ligt - Martinez - Shaw for the games against Villa & Newcastle. Probably forced to sub on Dorgu/Heaven as he likes to change defenders a lot and Martinez/Shaw are probably at higher risk of injury looking at track record.
Casemiro is one yellow away from a suspension. We wouldn't want him to miss Villa/Newcastle when we're short on numbers, but it feels inevitable he will and we're so much worse at conceding goals when he doesn't play. However, I'd probably argue we're unlikely to beat Villa/Newcastle anyway
so we can only try and take care of the next game. Whatever happens, happens. I'd only protect him if we're in a commanding position like we were against Wolves.
I will admit, while it might just be lack of confidence/belief/match fitness at this point, Mainoo did look incredibly sluggish when he came on. You can see that there isn't much intensity in his play which is probably why Amorim isn't picking him to be fair. Although, I think Amorim himself has caused some of that damage. We could easily be in huge trouble for player availability, especially if we pick up an injury or two soon. We need everyone to be at it, I think Mainoo should get more minutes in midfield with Bruno ahead. Ugarte is so bad but he's going to have to play as well.
We/Amorim are incredibly lucky still. It feels like despite only having one defeat in nine, we shouldn't be as close to the Champions League places as we are. The fortunate part is that everyone is beating everyone, and because of this the fixtures are falling quite nicely for us. We've had a good run of opponents while the teams around us face each other. Even this weekend there's:
Chelsea (5th) vs. Everton (7th)
Palace (4th) vs. Man City (2nd)
Sunderland (9th) vs. Newcastle (12th)
Liverpool (10th) vs. Brighton (8th)
Vast majority of these teams are within 3-4 points of each other. A win can change your position drastically, especially if some results go your way (even more-so if there are any draws). Pivotal to win, have momentum, and be consistent as it can distance you from this pack in a couple of weeks. I just don't think this team wants to take advantage, which is incredibly disappointing when we only play a game a week mostly. I still expect us to have another period where we faulter and end up looking more like an 8th place side than a potential 4-5th place side. We can't miss out on Europe again if the club want to execute the plans they have spoken of (new stadium, title by x year etc etc). But I think if we went into Europe without significant, successful recruitment then we'd look absolutely awful.
Said far too much there
but that team of players above and subs should beat Bournemouth at Old Trafford. Don't let it be three disappointing home outings in a row.
