Raees
Pythagoras in Boots
- Joined
- May 16, 2009
- Messages
- 29,469
The more I look at this game tactically, the more it seems that if both teams play close to their full potential - United should have the edge. For me the loss of Matip is huge, and we saw against Spurs - how close Jose's men were to exploiting the weaknesses down Liverpool's right flank. If we move Rashford back to the left, he can perform that Son-like role better than most.
Pogba has played himself back into contention and it makes sense to accommodate him rather than Martial who is not really adding anything in terms of goal output or general play at the moment. Having said that, he should never be trusted in deeper lying areas against good opposition so a diamond, with him on the left seems a good bet to try and frustrate the opposition and get a goal on the counter or via a set piece.
Physically Liverpool should have the edge, as they haven't played much recently but emotionally they are not on the same high that United are on. Furthermore this is the 6th season of Klopp's tenure... now injury has obviously hurt his team badly and COVID has knocked the stuffing out of most teams, but in his previous management tenures it was around this time his teams began to struggle and he was soon handing in his P45.
A United win here would be a massive psychological blow for their team and potentially make the Scousers second guess themselves in the run in and also their general direction going forwards.
Your thoughts? What key tactical battles do you expect to see and what will be the defining moments on Sunday...