Premier League 2023/24: Aston Villa vs Man United - Sun 11th Feb - 16:30 KO

SuperRash

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With Martinez out I think the team pretty much picks itself with Maguire and Varane being the partnership.

This is a tough game with Villa riding high but got to keep up our momentum. Our front players are starting to get into the groove so no doubt we will create chances but just need to keep it tight at the back.
 
I'm not so sure he really likes to use Shaw as that left sided centre back. Still no sign of Malacia but if AWB is fit he might flip Dalot to left back.

Varane does seem to be in the bad books at the moment so it's hard to tell how he'll adjust the defence with Martinez out again.

To me he needs to keep the two full backs where they are and just trust the centre backs and given it's 1 game a week now you probably trust Varane as he's the best player. Think he's also well suited to deal with the speedy Villa forwards and he's very good on defending set pieces which were a big problem in the boxing day game.

Big question will be does Emery change that high line style for this one, Utd exposed it repeatedly at Old Trafford we have so much speed up top he surely must be thinking is it worth the game in this game.

Must win game in the hunt for the top 4 we need to take points off Villa to close that gap down and crank up the pressure on them.
 
Common sense has to win surely - Shaw is just so much better at LB than CB, and we have actual centre halfs fit. I don't see why you sacrifice Shaw's threat with Rashord for an OOP centre back. Crazy stuff. It's some of the reason the team has been playing badly in my view. I wouldn't be using this tactic unless we had another LB with similar threat ready to play. You always play your best players in their best positions.
 
I think it's because he doesn't rate the way the other centre backs pass out from the back. Shaw is very comfortable on the ball and we've seen is also a pretty good centre back when played there.

It's why Martinez is such an important player to us because none of the other centre backs can play that position the way he does the only player who can is Shaw.
 
I think it's because he doesn't rate the way the other centre backs pass out from the back. Shaw is very comfortable on the ball and we've seen is also a pretty good centre back when played there.

It's why Martinez is such an important player to us because none of the other centre backs can play that position the way he does the only player who can is Shaw.
Still not a good enough excuse to move Shaw from LB IMO. The left side is where we can get a lot of joy sometimes and having him move is counter productive to Rashford. I don't agree Shaw is a good CB either. He's half decent at best.

Furthermore, we can't play this nonsense against a team like Villa. They're in form right now. All positions need to be as tactically stable as possible. That would be the conventional back four.
 
I just don’t think he likes any combination of Varane/Maguire/lindelof.

Maguire seems to be his number 1 on the right at the moment, on the left it’s Martinez but when he’s been out he’s looked to Shaw and Evans quite a bit when they’ve been fit. Not sure if Evans is back for the weekend.

I tend to agree you want to keep changes to a minimum but whatever the plan is the bonus is he has a week to set the team up on the training ground.

Set pieces were a big problem in the first game which makes me think Varane will be the one coming in and I wouldn’t rule out McT in for Mainoo.
 
We have to defend deep and attack on the counter so better play Varane at CB and left Shaw be the LB. We have to play with a higher tempo as only then can we exploit the pace of our forward line.
 
I just don’t think he likes any combination of Varane/Maguire/lindelof.

Maguire seems to be his number 1 on the right at the moment, on the left it’s Martinez but when he’s been out he’s looked to Shaw and Evans quite a bit when they’ve been fit. Not sure if Evans is back for the weekend.

I tend to agree you want to keep changes to a minimum but whatever the plan is the bonus is he has a week to set the team up on the training ground.

Set pieces were a big problem in the first game which makes me think Varane will be the one coming in and I wouldn’t rule out McT in for Mainoo.
I'd drop Mainoo under no circumstances right now. Him and Casemiro should start again and keep building their understanding. I can see your point though, and I don't rule out ETH doing it. Personally though I don't think Villa match up well against us - we have too much pace for the way they play. I think they'll be possibly looking to change the strategy altogether, so we don't even know what they might do. I'm no manager and I would not play that high line again against us.
 
Be concerned if it was at Old Trafford, but at Villa Park think they will play straight into our hands.

Not idea making to many changes in the back-four if you don't need to but would be tempted to go:

Kambwala Maguire Shaw Dalot​
 
Be concerned if it was at Old Trafford, but at Villa Park think they will play straight into our hands.

Not idea making to many changes in the back-four if you don't need to but would be tempted to go:

Kambwala Maguire Shaw Dalot​
Why do you want to take Shaw out of the LB and put him in RB when Maguire is uncomfortable playing on the left and shaw is uncomfortable playing on the right? Plus it would take a lot out of Rashford when he has not played with Kambwala as the lb?
 
Why do you want to take Shaw out of the LB and put him in RB when Maguire is uncomfortable playing on the left and shaw is uncomfortable playing on the right? Plus it would take a lot out of Rashford when he has not played with Kambwala as the lb?

He hasn’t. The way he’s laid it out is the standard from right to left. We are attacking towards the bottom of your screen. He just hasn’t included the goalkeeper.

Really odd post.

However that’s not how we’ll line up. AWB is fit so will play if we shift Dalot across. If we don’t shift Dalot across Varane will be at LCB.
 
Why do you want to take Shaw out of the LB and put him in RB when Maguire is uncomfortable playing on the left and shaw is uncomfortable playing on the right? Plus it would take a lot out of Rashford when he has not played with Kambwala as the lb?

Home-grown eh? Was always my go to.
 
He hasn’t. The way he’s laid it out is the standard from right to left. We are attacking towards the bottom of your screen. He just hasn’t included the goalkeeper.

Really odd post.

However that’s not how we’ll line up. AWB is fit so will play if we shift Dalot across. If we don’t shift Dalot across Varane will be at LCB.

AWB is still 50/50, and if he's not fully fit are you gonna throw him in against a side that play with two flying-wingers? That'll be a no then.
 
alarm-clock-smash.gif
 
Not sure if them getting battered mid week is a good or bad thing.

They played their strongest team and that's now back to back defeats at home.

Let's hope Utd make it 3 on Sunday.
 
Cant believe how bad Villa were, looked like they were deliberately holding back especially first half. Almost looked like a betting scandal tactic...
They will come at us like the Brazilian national team on Sunday obviously.
 
Not sure if them getting battered mid week is a good or bad thing.

They played their strongest team and that's now back to back defeats at home.

Let's hope Utd make it 3 on Sunday.

Got a soft spot for Villa so I think we should let them win poor loves.

Joe King
 
Cant believe how bad Villa were, looked like they were deliberately holding back especially first half. Almost looked like a betting scandal tactic...
They will come at us like the Brazilian national team on Sunday obviously.

Let 'em, as long as we play like Argentina!
 
Just saw the Leverkusen vs Bayern match on tv. How come they can move the ball so quickly and move into space so quickly and do not run with the ball head down but actually look up for options and pass while we still cannot do that? I guess Alonso is going to go to Liverpool next season?
 
Just saw the Leverkusen vs Bayern match on tv. How come they can move the ball so quickly and move into space so quickly and do not run with the ball head down but actually look up for options and pass while we still cannot do that? I guess Alonso is going to go to Liverpool next season?

What’s that got to do with United vs Villa?

I’d imagine Alonso is in the top running for the Liverpool job, he’s done great with Bayer.

However let’s not forget ETH took Ajax to back to back champions league semi finals and had the team playing the best football in the world at the time.

Sometimes the fans need to have a bit of patience and not expect instant noodle timing when trying to cook up a gourmet dish.
 
What’s that got to do with United vs Villa?

I’d imagine Alonso is in the top running for the Liverpool job, he’s done great with Bayer.

However let’s not forget ETH took Ajax to back to back champions league semi finals and had the team playing the best football in the world at the time.

Sometimes the fans need to have a bit of patience and not expect instant noodle timing when trying to cook up a gourmet dish.
It has got everything to do with the way we play at United. I guess you do not see Ajax play much or has seen them play. Ajax always plays the same way whether it is the kids, the Academy or the junior team. They might win or lose but it is a certain way. Whether it is Johan Cruijff, LVG, Michels or Blind or Kovacs, they try to play in a certain way. They play this from the start and they never change.
Either the players are not listening to ETH or they simply cannot play the way he wants to play.
Xabi Alonso also took charge of Leverkusen only in 2022. It looks like they listen to him and play the way he wants them to play. We do not move the ball the way top teams move it. We do not move into space the way top teams move into.
 
I don’t think you will ever see anything different in an Ajax team regardless of who is the manager. They are built to play a certain way from schoolboy teams to youth teams and all the way up to the seniors.

I don’t think United have the technical players to play the Ajax way. We have some very good players but not a team of technically proficient players.

Leverkusen have some very good players on a technical level so easily adapt to what Alonso wants to do. This adaptation is not so easy here.
 
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