Back 3 for the final?

[Adam-Utd]

As we've seen recently whatever back 2 options we choose just look shaky without Maguire.

The one time against PSG we didn't have Maguire we played a back 3 of Tuanzebe, Lindelof and Shaw. Perhaps this is our best way to remain solid, but still have a decent attacking threat through Cavani/Rashford/Fernandes?

The only issue would be the LWB slot; with Telles not being great recently perhaps we should play Tuanzebe LCB and Shaw LWB instead.

I'm not usually one for changing a formation once a team looks 'comfortable' with it, but I feel like our defence needs help and our attacking players should be able to get the job done when given the chance.

 

[TheReligion]

No CB on the bench is risky in itself

 

[RkkMan]

I said this in another thread and I got clowned for it but it's the truth. A back 3 is our best chance of winning the final without looking like clowns at the back with the exact same defenders we used vs PSG of Shaw, Lindelof and Axel(he's calmer than Bailly)
Telles at LWB isn't much of an issue having him and Shaw on that left side will help massively in build up play due to them being technical left footed players. Defensively Telles may not be the best but he'll have Shaw helping him out on that side

 

[Tarrou]

I just don't trust Bailly at all

and switching Shaw to LCB takes away a lot of what he gives us at FB

so not for me, clive

 

[AngeloHenriquez]

Who do you play RWB? James is injured, not sure this suits us at all to be honest

EDIT: If we had to go forward with this, I would make Matic the 3rd CB as a Libero of sorts

 

[RkkMan]

I just don't trust Bailly at all

and switching Shaw to LCB takes away a lot of what he gives us at FB

so not for me, clive

Axel for Bailly in a back 3 and so you'd rather go with a back 2 combination that is simply not working?
Aren't we best off using the one defensive combination that actually worked without Maguire this season than risk with a 2 man defence without him that has just not been up to scratch?

 

[SecondFig]

If Maguire is out, I've got to be honest, I'm not entirely against this idea. But would much rather have Maguire and play the usual 4-2-3-1

 

[Valar Morghulis]

No fecking way because no doubt it'll backfire on us and we'll play disjointed as hell.

 

[SecondFig]

Who do you play RWB? James is injured, not sure this suits us at all to be honest

EDIT: If we had to go forward with this, I would make Matic the 3rd CB as a Libero of sorts

I mean, it'd be AWB? Sure he's not the best going forward, but he's been improving...

 

[Tarrou]

Axel for Bailly in a back 3 and so you'd rather go with a back 2 combination that is simply not working?
Aren't we best off using the one defensive combination that actually worked without Maguire this season than risk with a 2 man defence without him that has just not been up to scratch?

yeah pretty much, I'd rather risk that than switch to a formation which doesn't seem to work well either

neither is ideal

 

[Dinghy]

God, no. Think the Leipzig-game was the last time we went with a back-3, and that was the worst game of our season.

 

[AngeloHenriquez]

I mean, it'd be AWB? Sure he's not the best going forward, but he's been improving...

Surely that's a mistake, his strengths are in defending at the end of the day, I hate him in that position, I think a back 2 is the way to go Fred & Mctom just need to be told to sit deeper and watch for through balls

 

[RkkMan]

God, no. Think the Leipzig-game was the last time we went with a back-3, and that was the worst game of our season.

Problem is we used Matic/McTominay in midfield which is a horrible combination reckon we'll be fine with McFred. At least it got us a result vs PSG. A 2 man combination without Maguire has gotten us absolutely nothing

 

[RkkMan]

yeah pretty much, I'd rather risk that than switch to a formation which doesn't seem to work well either

neither is ideal

Bar the Leipzig game which had a horrible CM combination of Matic and McTominay it's never really "seemed not to work well for us" so not sure where you got that conclusion from. Using a 2 man CB partnership would be a worse scenario if the last results are anything to go by. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting the same result

 

[Bwuk]

I wouldn't trust them to be able to play it without Maguire to lead it.

 

[justsomebloke]

It's an awful idea, and the worst thing is there are actually some good arguments for it.

 

[Bertie Wooster]

No, i don't think we should be messing about with the formation, and moving Shaw from LB where he's been playing brilliantly, ahead of the final.

Villarreal are a solid, organised team who know their role and how they'll play. We have better players and should, equally, be sending them out in roles they know and are comfortable with - rather than in an unfamiliar set up designed to patch up a weakness rather than enhance our other strengths.

It's far from ideal, but we just have to hope the inconsistent Bailly or Tuanzebe can have one of their good days, or good enough, while picking our key players in their best and most natural positions to allow them to perform well - rather than risk effecting our attacking performance in order to deal with Maguire's absence at the back.

 

[Baneofthegame]

Hasn’t McSauce played in a back 3 for Scotland and been quite good there?

 

[Siorac]

Suddenly changing the formation for a major cup final... it's not a great idea.

The Leipzig game should be a warning.

 

[RkkMan]

No, i don't think we should be messing about with the formation, and moving Shaw from LB where he's been playing brilliantly, ahead of the final.

Villarreal are a solid, organised team who know their role and how they'll play. We have better players and should, equally, be sending them out in roles they know and are comfortable with - rather than in an unfamiliar set up designed to patch up a weakness rather than enhance our other strengths.

It's far from ideal, but we just have to hope the inconsistent Bailly or Tuanzebe can have one of their good days, or good enough, while picking our key players in their best and most natural positions to allow them to perform well - rather than risk effecting our attacking performance in order to deal with Maguire's absence at the back.

It's not a completely unfamiliar set up it got us a very good result vs PSG and attack wins you games but defence wins you title. We have a Trophy on the line rather we patched up the one area that is clearly week and could cost us a chance to break a Trophy drought than hope a clown starting in place of Maguire just decides to switch on in our biggest game of the season especially when we have a 0% win ratio with Maguire out injured

 

[DWelbz19]

Suddenly changing the formation for a major cup final... it's not a great idea.

Exactly. We’ve not played a back 3 for nearly over half the season.

 

[Bertie Wooster]

It's not a completely unfamiliar set up it got us a very good result vs PSG and attack wins you games but defence wins you title. We have a Trophy on the line rather we patched up the one area that is clearly week and could cost us a chance to break a Trophy drought than hope a clown starting in place of Maguire just decides to switch on in our biggest game of the season especially when we have a 0% win ratio with Maguire out injured

It is unfamiliar.
The fact we've very occasionally played it doesn't make it familiar. The formation and role the players play week in, week out is what's familiar to them.

I get the worry about the CB, obviously. But our strength will be going forward. I'd rather not hinder that by playing one less attacking player to accommodate an extra inconsistent defender like Telles, and take Shaw's attacking left back threat away. Villarreal are an organised, defensive team. We'll need to be at our attacking best to break them down. Reducing that threat, while playing Shaw out of position, and bringing in two, not just one, inconsistent defenders to replace Maguire and an attacking option, just threatens to weaken us at both ends of the pitch.

 

[Lynty]

What a way to bottle it Tinker with your formation before a final

 

[acnumber9]

How about we just take the game to a team that we should be beating comfortably?

 

[Adcuth]

If anything is to be changed id prefer a diamond with mctominay at the base so he can drop into defence if we need him to. He can play CB so he could offer us that extra protection.

 

[drdoityourself]

It's a system that has not been used for quite some time now. And when it was the Leipzig game was just awful.

I don't agree with the idea of compensating for a shaky player by adding another one next to him. Rather we'd just play to our strengths which are the attacking players. We should not sacrifice one of them to add another bumbling centreback.

 

[bosnian_red]

Would be very weird considering we've successfully played a 4231 for the past 8 months. Though with McTominay picking up a knock, Maguire being out... it could happen?

De Gea
Tuanzebe Lindelof Shaw
Wan Bissaka Pogba Fred Telles
Bruno
Rashford Cavani
​

Though in reality McTominay will probably be fine and in for Telles and it'll just be the 4-2-3-1, with Bailly/Tuanzebe being a toss up, and Greenwood our guy from the bench.

 

[eltigreFalcao]

Suddenly changing the formation for a major cup final... it's not a great idea.

The Leipzig game should be a warning.

This.

Also, back three + McFred on midfield? what are we, Brighton?

I really dislike back 3 defenses lately, but I would be a little more into this idea have we tried and trained this formation, and given how sturdy Ole is I honestly believe the lads eat lunch in a 4231 formation in the cafeteria.

 

[VP89]

Just trust in our back 4 I say. I wouldn't play Pogba left (even though it'll happen). Think our best team is with Pogba in the middle with Fred & Bruno behind Rashford Cavani Greenwood. It puts the team on the front foot and is the best balance.

 

[youngrell]

If we were coming up against a team stronger than us, I could see some merit in the suggestion. But as it is, we should stick to our usual formation and trust Lindelof + 1 to get the job done.

Their defence is as leaky as ours but our attack is far superior.

 

[Garethw]

You don’t start experimenting in a cup final. Solskjaer will quite rightly go with a back four.

 

[Godfather]

You don’t start experimenting in a cup final. Solskjaer will quite rightly go with a back four.

This. As much as I distrust that defense of ours I think we should go with 4 at the back too.

Plus AWB has absolutely no clue what to do in the RWB position. So no thanks.

 

[Ayoba]

Good god no!

 

[Matthew84!]

Not for me, don't start with Bailey and play with Matic in midfield, he drops very deep anyway.

 

[red woppit]

God, no. Think the Leipzig-game was the last time we went with a back-3, and that was the worst game of our season.

By the same token, PSG away was one of our best performances all season, and that was with a back three.
If either Fred or McTominay don't make the final, then Matic is most likely to come in, and a back three would be a good option I think. If that were the case, then
I would certainly play Bailly, with Lindelof and Tuanzebe alongside. If both Fred and McTominay play, then I would go Bailly and Tuanzebe.

 

[cj_sparky]

Doubt it.

I thought Ole might switch to 3 at the back against Liverpool, after the first half. Bringing Shaw into the left of the three, allowing Lindelof to move central and Telles coming on for Fred/McTominay. With Pogba dropping deeper.

I cannot see him changing to it in a final.

 

[Adam-Utd]

Suddenly changing the formation for a major cup final... it's not a great idea.

The Leipzig game should be a warning.

It's not ideal but then again is our defending ideal at present?

Fulham tore us to pieces numberous time, if they can do it then Villareal will have no issues either.

It's not like we've not played this formation before either, we beat PSG this way.

in a 1 off match I'd rather be solid and have a chance to score, than be wildly open and concede chances.

 

[devilish]

You don't change formation so late in the season especially in for a final. What United should have done was to put Jones and Bailly in the dustbin and add a decent CB to the team. Unfortunately that never happened. We gave them a long term contract instead.

 

[SER19]

Lindelof and tuanzebe should be fine. If we bother to look like a team who gives a shit about winning

 

[ColvaleGoa]

Isn't McFred a doubt for the finals too?