Rooney, Mata, Smalling And Jones To Star: Manchester United 4-2-3-1 Predicted Lineup to Face Tottenham
May 13, 2017 at 1:49 PM
Manchester United put in a solid performance this weekend as they held Celta Vigo to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford to move into the finals of the Europa League this season. However, Jose Mourinho will hope that his side can keep up their good form in the league as well when they face the Spurs this weekend.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side are fresh from a loss at the London stadium to local rivals West Ham and have gifted the title to Chelsea. They have little to play for the rest of the season and will look to consolidate their 2nd position, unlike last year when they dropped to third. United are currently 6th in the points table and anything less than three points will push them out of the race for the top-4 positions. Here is the predicted lineup Mourinho might field for this tie:
Team News:
The Red Devils will be without the services of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo, who are all out for the rest of the season. Marouane Fellaini will miss this game, serving a suspension he picked up in the game against Manchester City.
Expected Lineup (4-3-3):
Defense:
Sergio Romero did a decent job in the semi-final against Celta and he should be rested, getting David de Gea back into action for this tie. Antonio Valencia deserves a rest but the lack of options for Mourinho might see him start at right back for two games in four days.
With Shaw out injured, Darmian might be rested in this game and Dutch defender Daley Blind might be pushed to the left-back role, after a decent outing at the heart of the defence against Celta. Eric Bailly should also get an off day with Phil Jones and Chris Smalling both deputising for him at the back. The English duo is playing together after a while a will be up against one of the best in Harry Kane.
Midfield:
With Fellaini out suspended, Mourinho would want Paul Pogba to sit out this game and might use Michael Carrick, who only played a few minutes in the semi-final and Ander Herrera, the only other available midfielder in the squad. The duo has also been effective in the past and could be hard to break for the Spurs.
Attack:
With Zlatan out of the equation, young Marcus Rashford has been given the responsibilities of goal scoring. He should lead the attack for the side, playing just ahead of club skipper Wayne Rooney, who came off the bench in the Europa League tie.
Juan Mata could be used on the right flank while Jesse Lingard should keep his place on the left side.
This is how they could lineup: