Manchester United faces a Wolverhampton Wanderers side that is expected to struggle at Old Trafford on Monday night. Whilst the Red Devils will be expected to open their account with relative ease, there is plenty of uncertainty as to who will start in the striker position. Using the latest news and updates, Last Word on Football have created a predicted lineup for Erik ten Hag’s side’s Premier League opener.
Man Utd Start Season Against Wolves at Old Trafford
How Erik ten Hag’s side Lined Up in Pre-season
There were some interesting choices in United’s pre-season, however, the lineups were for the most part as fans will have expected. New signing Andre Onana, who joined from Inter Milan in July for £47.2 million, featured in goal for the tougher fixtures. At right-back, Diogo Dalot started in games where his side was expected to dominate the ball, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka picked against sides with strong wingers, such as Arsenal and Real Madrid. Keep an eye out for his inclusion in big games regardless of Dalot’s form.
Watch: How Manchester United Will Line Up Under Erik ten Hag Next Season
At centre-back, Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane were preferred alongside Luke Shaw at left-back. In front of them in defensive midfield, teenager Kobbie Mainoo impressed and is likely to be named on United’s bench this season. Casemiro was rested in most games, although he did feature against his former club Real Madrid. Mason Mount and Christian Eriksen primarily played in the central midfield
In front of them in attacking midfield Bruno Fernandes played consistent minutes. However, the starting wingers were consistently rotated, with exciting prospects such as Amad Diallo, Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Pellestri registering minutes. Antony will likely retain his starting spot on the right of midfield but was largely rested. Up front, Jadon Sancho provided perhaps the most interesting aspect of their pre-season as a false-nine, which showed some promise. Marcus Rashford was also primarily used as a striker, despite ordinarily playing on the left for ten Hag.
Anthony Martial was unavailable during pre-season due to a hamstring injury but is reportedly fit for United’s first match of the season.
Recap of Red Devil’s Summer Form
United’s summer tour certainly had its challenges. After defeating Lyon and Arsenal early in the summer, they then went on to suffer defeats to League Two’s Wrexham, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. It must be said that ten Hag’s side against Wrexham was essentially an academy team, with no ordinary senior players in the squad aside from the returning Jonny Evans. However, the same could not be said for their matches against the La Liga champions and Dortmund.
Read More: Red Devil Dominance – Manchester United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers Predictions and Best Odds
There were consistent problems in playing out from the back, highlighted in particular against their German opponents, who were able to press the back line into big errors, leading to plenty of high-value chances and ultimately two crucial goals. There were some positives, as they beat a strong Arsenal side, eased past Lens and gave Madrid a tough game despite suffering a 2-0 defeat.
Key Tactics for Ten Hag
Going into next season, expect United to attack the opposition directly in transition. Last season they launched more direct attacks than any other side in the Premier League. A direct attack is defined by Opta as an attack that begins in your defensive half and at least 50% of the movement is towards the opposition goal, in a move that results in a shot. Their opening goal against Arsenal in pre-season was a great example of this.
Another key aspect of Ten Hag’s style of play is counter-pressing, his side will look to regain the ball back rapidly once it has been lost, to force turnovers in chaotic situations where the opposition defence will be disorganised. If they fail to win possession quickly, they tend to retreat into a compact 4-4-2 formation to block passes into the middle of the pitch. Against Wolves they will be expected to dominate possession, so once it’s been lost, watch how the forwards will rapidly engage the defenders to put them under pressure.
Read More: Erik ten Hag Speaks Out on Man Utd Player Who is Now Set to Leave
Man Utd Injury News
Several players have been ruled out of Monday night’s game against Wolves. Mainoo, Tyrell Malacia, Diallo and Tom Heaton have all been ruled out alongside hotly-anticipated summer signing Rasmus Hojlund, who is expected to return in September following a back injury picked up in Atalanta’s pre-season before his £72 million move to England earlier this month. French forward Martial will return and could feature, with United in desperate need of a striker until Hojlund is back to match fitness.
Man Utd Predicted Lineup in a 4-1-4-1 vs Wolves
Onana; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Mount, Fernandes; Antony, Rashford, Martial
Main Image credit: Daniel0685 on Flickr, CC BY 2.0
