- Joined
- Feb 15, 2012
- Messages
- 28,174
Bit like Utd our opponents have been a bit of a shambles this season after winning La Liga last season they've massively fallen off the pace this season and currently sit outside the top 4 although they are level on points with Barcelona on 42 points from 25 games. Utd for comparison are on 46 from 26 games so pretty similar league records this season.
Atletico have spent fortunes on players in recent seasons but they really do struggle to fit all the big name signings into a team that is balanced. Joao Felix, Lemar, Saurez and Griezmann have all been hit and miss for them this season with the usually reliable Oblak in goal also making a lot of mistakes. Both teams concede a comedy amount of goals 34 each in the league so you do expect there to be goals in this one.
No more away goals in knockout matches so will be interesting to see how each team plays it will the first leg be more open or more cautious.
Team news I guess we have to assume everyone came through yesterday ok and it'll just be a cause of waiting for news on Cavani is he fit enough to be involved. Don't think we've got anyone carrying a suspension into the first game of the knockouts but haven't checked.
Will he try to fit both Pogba and Fernandes into his starting midfield 3? Very dangerous against a Spanish side who will be good at keeping the ball as they all are. I wonder if we might see Fernandes pushed to the right of the attacking 3 to get Fred into the midfield just to give us a bit more discipline in terms of our shape. You would expect Varane to come back into the back 4 with Dalot which is harsh on Lindelof who I thought played well at Leeds but he is "Champions League Varane" so if he's fully fit he has to play. The positive I guess is we now have players who are in form again who are nailing down starting spots making it hard for Rangnick to drop them.
DDG
Dalot Varane Maguire Shaw
Fred McT Pogba
Fernandes Ronaldo Sancho
Ronaldo is very much the Atletico Madrid boogeyman he's basically ruined the lives of their fans for over a decade so he'll be bang up for what he believes is his stage and to be fair it's on this stage where he's really delivered for us so far. Equally his presence will bring an extra edge to the occassion for their fans.
My big fear is the mental side of things we know Atletico are the masters of all the dark arts and dirty tricks can Utd handle the pressure they will put on them and not react to it we've seen what happens on bad days with these lads it's all arms swining and crying. You've got to be smart in European matches and not fall for the dirty tricks as the refs will flash the yellow cards quickly and they ref the game to a much higher standard in terms of fouls/handball etc you need to be smart and focused.
Atletico have spent fortunes on players in recent seasons but they really do struggle to fit all the big name signings into a team that is balanced. Joao Felix, Lemar, Saurez and Griezmann have all been hit and miss for them this season with the usually reliable Oblak in goal also making a lot of mistakes. Both teams concede a comedy amount of goals 34 each in the league so you do expect there to be goals in this one.
No more away goals in knockout matches so will be interesting to see how each team plays it will the first leg be more open or more cautious.
Team news I guess we have to assume everyone came through yesterday ok and it'll just be a cause of waiting for news on Cavani is he fit enough to be involved. Don't think we've got anyone carrying a suspension into the first game of the knockouts but haven't checked.
Will he try to fit both Pogba and Fernandes into his starting midfield 3? Very dangerous against a Spanish side who will be good at keeping the ball as they all are. I wonder if we might see Fernandes pushed to the right of the attacking 3 to get Fred into the midfield just to give us a bit more discipline in terms of our shape. You would expect Varane to come back into the back 4 with Dalot which is harsh on Lindelof who I thought played well at Leeds but he is "Champions League Varane" so if he's fully fit he has to play. The positive I guess is we now have players who are in form again who are nailing down starting spots making it hard for Rangnick to drop them.
DDG
Dalot Varane Maguire Shaw
Fred McT Pogba
Fernandes Ronaldo Sancho
Ronaldo is very much the Atletico Madrid boogeyman he's basically ruined the lives of their fans for over a decade so he'll be bang up for what he believes is his stage and to be fair it's on this stage where he's really delivered for us so far. Equally his presence will bring an extra edge to the occassion for their fans.
My big fear is the mental side of things we know Atletico are the masters of all the dark arts and dirty tricks can Utd handle the pressure they will put on them and not react to it we've seen what happens on bad days with these lads it's all arms swining and crying. You've got to be smart in European matches and not fall for the dirty tricks as the refs will flash the yellow cards quickly and they ref the game to a much higher standard in terms of fouls/handball etc you need to be smart and focused.