[Firstouch20]

--------------------DDG---------

--Jones----Smalling-----Evans------Shaw

--------------------Carrick---------------

-Januzaj-------Rooney------Herrera------------Di Maria

---------------------------RvP--------------------

 

[DWelbz19]

----------P------
-H--I----L--O---
-S--O---P----H--
----------Y--------

 

[Sheikhy]

He will predict a 1-1 saying that we're tired, we don't produce enough, then we'l win 3-1 and he'll eat his pants

I hope he eats more than his pants.

 

[Sean_RedDevil]

----------P------
-H--I----L--O---
-S--O---P----H--
----------Y--------

 

[The Stain]

Hehe, though shouldnt it be:

----- P ----- H ----- I -------
L ------------------------- O -
------- S -------- O ----------
------------- P ---------------
-------- H ------ Y ----------

 

[Adcuth]

Would like to see this maybe, seen players play with cheek injuries before so Rafa may be ok.

If not then this could work. Give us the pace we've been lacking.

 

[sunama]

I do find it strange that at home, we are so dominant.
Rival teams (apart from Chelsea) havent even looked like they can get a draw against us, let alone a win.
Away from home, we look like we will either lose or draw.
Does anybody want to guess why this disparity exists?

 

[Offside]

I do find it strange that at home, we are so dominant.
Rival teams (apart from Chelsea) havent even looked like they can get a draw against us, let alone a win.
Away from home, we look like we will either lose or draw.
Does anybody want to guess why this disparity exists?

To be fair we survived late onslaughts from Stoke, West Ham and Everton to beat them at home.

 

[gooDevil]

I do find it strange that at home, we are so dominant.
Rival teams (apart from Chelsea) havent even looked like they can get a draw against us, let alone a win.
Away from home, we look like we will either lose or draw.
Does anybody want to guess why this disparity exists?

For one, opposition pitches tend to be more narrow than Old Trafford's, so there is less space and consequently less scoring.

 

[gooDevil]

Di Maria in midfield please!

 

[Ixion]

I do find it strange that at home, we are so dominant.
Rival teams (apart from Chelsea) havent even looked like they can get a draw against us, let alone a win.
Away from home, we look like we will either lose or draw.
Does anybody want to guess why this disparity exists?

We battered Spurs away in that first half, we just needed a goal.

I think our biggest problem is when we concede the first goal (City, Villa, Stoke, West Brom) then we seem to struggle. We took the lead at Arsenal and Southampton and won both.

 

[buckooo1978]

surely Herrera and Di Maria will start

I'd like to see

-----------------De Gea-----------------
Smalling------Jones---Evans-------Shaw
------------------Carrick-----------------
-----------Herrera----Di Maria-------
-----------------Mata-------------------
----------Rooney-------RVP-------------

or

-----------------De Gea-----------------
Smalling------Jones---Evans-------Shaw
------------------Carrick-----------------
-------------Herrera----Rooney----------
Januzaj------------RVP-----------Di Maria

Adnan deserves a start soon surely

 

[The Stain]

surely Herrera and Di Maria will start

I'd like to see

-----------------De Gea-----------------
Smalling------Jones---Evans-------Shaw
------------------Carrick-----------------
-----------Herrera----Di Maria-------
-----------------Mata-------------------
----------Rooney-------RVP-------------

or

-----------------De Gea-----------------
Smalling------Jones---Evans-------Shaw
------------------Carrick-----------------
-------------Herrera----Rooney----------
Januzaj------------RVP-----------Di Maria

Adnan deserves a start soon surely

Jones and Evans as a pair is something i never want to see again. Smalling with (Rojo)McNair/Blackett id much rather have, stick Jones out wide. I want Valencia back but that would inevitably mean 352
(We will play it regardless but heres me hoping for the diamond along everyone else). Just make Valencia into a fullback already!

 

[Mr.Plow]

Adnan deserves a start soon? I really disagree. Mata's in top form and needs to be starting every game plus Di Maria and Falcao need all the game time they can get at the moment. I guess you could always make the point that RVP hasn't been great over Christmas but I'm not sure it's worth changing formation to accommodate a player who hasn't had any end product all season.

 

[Roosney]

I smell a 4-4-2 here. I'm not condemning the 3-5-2 yet but with the current players it's not working so it would be refreshing to see four in the back.

 

[Infra-red]

De Gea

Jones Smalling Evans Blackett

Carrick

Herrera Di Maria

Rooney

RvP Falcao​

 

[matherto]

If not then this could work. Give us the pace we've been lacking.

The only pace there is still Di Maria. Adnan isn't exactly lightning.

 

[Eric'sCollar]

The only pace there is still Di Maria. Adnan isn't exactly lightning.

Januzaj is quick. Hate this idea over the past few weeks that he isn't. Yes, he isn't as powerful as he will be in 3-4 years but he can still go past 99% of the defenders in the league.

 

[Gerald G]

De Gea
Rafael--Jones--Smalling--Shaw
Herrera--Carrick--Rooney
Mata--van Persie--Di Maria

or Januzaj in for Herrera and Mata drops deeper.​

 

[ryan_forlan]

Gk: De gea
Defence: back 4
midfield: mata di maria herrera carrick
forward line : rooney falcao

Rojo Blind and Januzaj/Rvp from the bench

This is what I want to see against Southampton.

We really need Herrera and Di Maria to get a good run of games. We have four matches left this month. I want Herrera, Di Maria to start all four. I also want Shaw to start at least 3(if he is not available for the match this weekend). A settled and decently in form Shaw, Herrera and Di Maria, will go a long way in making us a force again.
If Mata can turn things around so can the likes of Shaw and Herrera. If injuries stay away, I really hope LvG is thinking the same thing.

 

[Gannicus]

De Gea

Jones Smalling Evans Blackett

Carrick

Herrera Di Maria

Rooney

RvP Falcao​

Me gusta.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

De Gea
McNair Jones Smalling Blackett
Carrick
Herrera Di Maria
Mata
Rooney Falcao

Got a feeling Blackett and McNair could operate as decent fullbacks for the time being if Shaw/Young/Raf/Valencia are all out. Would rather not have Jones or Smalling as fullback.​

 

[Sean_RedDevil]

We battered Spurs away in that first half, we just needed a goal.

I think our biggest problem is when we concede the first goal (City, Villa, Stoke, West Brom) then we seem to struggle. We took the lead at Arsenal and Southampton and won both.

Yeah one of our problems this season. If we concede first then i have never the feeling we will win the match.
It always looks like we're a bit shocked in the first 10 minutes after such a goal or Van Gaal says to the players "If we concede the first goal then calm down the match for the next 5-10 minutes.....keep the ball.....don't concede a 2nd goal in the next minutes"

Of course not everything was good under Fergie but 1-0 down under him and we have attacked the other team as soon as possible

 

[ScarleyUtd]

Must be licking their lips.

Seeing as we've only lost once at home all season, don't see why that would be the case.

 

[ScarleyUtd]

Januzaj is quick. Hate this idea over the past few weeks that he isn't. Yes, he isn't as powerful as he will be in 3-4 years but he can still go past 99% of the defenders in the league.

He goes past them because of his skills, not his speed. Or at least he did.

 

[Brightonian]

----------P------
-H--I----L--O---
-S--O---P----H--
----------Y--------

That's only 10 players mate. You forgot the accent:

------P-------
--H--I-L--O--
-S-H-O-P-H-
-------Y-----

 

[Brightonian]

He goes past them because of his skills, not his speed. Or at least he did.

He goes past them because of both. He is fast. Not lightning, but fast enough to count as fast.

 

[ScarleyUtd]

He goes past them because of both. He is fast. Not lightning, but fast enough to count as fast.

It's all relative. He's faster than me for example , but a lot of defenders are faster.

Not knocking him, and hope he gets back his best form. Though it doesn't seem he is LVG's cup of tea sadly.

 

[Brightonian]

Not knocking him, and hope he gets back his best form. Though it doesn't seem he is LVG's cup of tea sadly.

I don't know about that. Obviously he's had very little game time this season (just four starts) - which makes the surprisingly common opinion on here that he's somehow not as good as he was last season particularly ridiculous - but then we've just spent £60m on one of the world's best players in his position. It could be that Van Gaal does rate him, but can't justify starting a still-developing youngster, albeit one as good as Januzaj, when he has Di Maria (and all our other star attackers) available.

I'm still hopeful. The lad's absurdly talented, undoubtedly one of the top prospects in the world. We've got him signed up to a good long contract, so we can afford to be patient and wait for an opportunity to give him some proper game time. If a great loan opportunity arises, that's a strong option too.

The fact that he's ever-present on the bench and is being given some game time, albeit very little, suggests that LVG isn't ignoring or discounting him. I'm more worried for CM and DM prospects like Pearson and Rothwell, who aren't even getting on the bench while we play Fletcher, Fellaini and out-of-position forwards in midfield every week.

 

[Brightonian]

DDG
Rafa Jones Smalling Blackett
Carrick
Herrera Di Maria
Rooney Mata
Falcao
​

I'm not actually fussy about how the forwards line up. Put RVP in there over Mata or Falcao if preferred, swap Rooney and Di Maria and Mata into whichever subdivision of that creative attacking role you want.

Mainly I want:

- Four at the back
- Herrera and Di Maria starting
- No Fletcher, starting or as a sub. We have young prospects who are better options now.

And if it's a choice between starting lots of strikers and having to bring on a midfielder to get some control, or starting lots of midfielders and having to bring on a striker to add some goal threat, the latter is clearly the better option. It's very difficult to take control of possession and territory with substitutes, much easier to turn pre-existing possession and territory into goals by throwing on a striker.

 

[Mersault]

This game could come too soon for Rafael and Shaw, definitely Young and Valencia. If both the former are out, will we go with a back four then, with Blackett as a left-back and Jones as a right-back?

In a must win game I really hope we go for Di Maria from the start. If things are bright he might only have to play 45-60mins.

 

[RDCR07]

When is Blind coming back?

 

[jaimoe]

De Gea
Rafael--Jones--Smalling--Shaw
Herrera--Carrick--Rooney
Mata--van Persie--Di Maria

or Januzaj in for Herrera and Mata drops deeper.​

please

 

[bosnian_red]

When is Blind coming back?

Should be on the bench at the very least for this. He's been in training for 2 weeks now I think.

 

[Havak]

I'm assuming Rafael isn't cleared to play even with a mask for a little while yet, but I do hope he's fit. However, under that assumption (and that Shaw is also out) I expect this:

de Gea
Jones Smalling Evans Blackett
Carrick
Herrera Rooney
Mata
van Persie Falcao​

Di Maria to come off the bench although I'd rather he started. Maybe Blind to come off the bench too.

 

[Whiteside1985]

I'm assuming Rafael isn't cleared to play even with a mask for a little while yet, but I do hope he's fit. However, under that assumption (and that Shaw is also out) I expect this:

de Gea
Jones Smalling Evans Blackett
Carrick
Herrera Rooney
Mata
van Persie Falcao​

Di Maria to come off the bench although I'd rather he started. Maybe Blind to come off the bench too.

Wingback-less wonders!

 

[RyRy11]

Not looking forward to this one but its nice to be playing at Old Trafford again after what seems like months.

 

[arthurka]

Looking forward to this..

Again Southampton are very impressive and well done to them.
For those interested here is a nice docu on Southampton.

http://sportsworld.nbcsports.com/pl-download-the-southampton-way/

 

[itso 7]

De Gea
Rafael--Jones--Smalling--Shaw
Herrera--Carrick--Rooney
Mata--van Persie--Di Maria

or Januzaj in for Herrera and Mata drops deeper.​

I think it's too soon for both Rafael and Shaw so we could see Jones and Blackett at fullback positions. Other than that I think your line up represents the best team we can put out for this game.

 

[Roosney]

How did they play against Arsenal, has anyone seen the game? I know they beat Arsenal 2-0 and Szczesny gifted them the goals but a brief sum up would be nice.