Preston vs Manchester United: Preview

by  on  in All, Manchester United, Pre/Post Match, Pre&Post Match

Summary

On Monday night Manchester United will head to Deepdale to face League 1 outfit Preston North End. The Red Devils head into the game having previously beaten lower league opposition Cambridge United and Yeovil Town.

With the large gap between both clubs in the English Football Pyramid, Manchester United will go into the match as favourites. However, the Reds have not been convincing away from home in both the League and Cup competitions, and Van Gaal will be aware of the possible struggles his team could face.

Preston are pushing for promotion and have won 3 games on the bounce following a torrid run of form during January. Preston’s manager Simon Grayson is not short of experience when it comes to facing United. The Englishman led his Leeds team to the FA Cup fourth round after beating Sir Alex Fergusons team in 2010.

Team News

Preston will be without Jermaine Beckford, a player who was part of Simon Grayson’s Leeds team five years ago. They will however have Joe Garner at their disposal. The striker has scored 13 goals this season for The Whites and will look to steal the limelight against Louis Van Gaal’s men.

The visitors are expected to be without Van Persie, Phil Jones, Daley Blind and Michael Carrick who are all suffering from injuries. On the other hand, Luke Shaw is expected to return from his suspension.

Team Line-ups

With the supposed failure of the 3-5-2 formation many fans felt that a four at the back formation was the answer to United’s failures. However, having changed to a four at the back formation, Louis Van Gaal’s side have continued to struggle in matches. After the Red Devils scraped a draw against West Ham and narrowly beat Burnley, Louis Van Gaal must question his tactics. One change he should make to his philosophy is to add width too United’s game. The success of this was evident against Burnley, as after Daley Blind was injured United changed to a flat four in midfield with both Di Maria and Januzaj on the wings. This helped to spread the opposition defence and improved the overall attacking play of United. With this said I would start a 4-2-3-1 formation.

In nets I expect David De Gea to retain his place, the Spaniard has been in fine form this season and Louis Van Gaal has made it evident that Victor Valdes must prove himself if he is to displace De Gea. At right-back, McNair should keep his place after impressive performances for both the U21’s and the first team in this position. At Centre-back Chris Smalling is expected to replace the injured Phil Jones, however the English Centre-back must improve on his defensive performance against Burnley. Beside him Rojo should resume his place at centre-back leaving the left-back position open for Luke Shaw.

In midfield I believe that Van Gaal will field a midfield two. With both Michael Carrick and Daley Blind injured, I expect Wayne Rooney to start in midfield. Alongside Rooney, Herrera should look to continue on from his impressive performance against Burnley. After coming on as a substitute, the Spaniard helped in the transition of play between the defence and the attack and impressed both the fans and Louis Van Gaal. On the right wing position I can see Januzaj continue his run in the team. The Youngster has obviously made an impression on Louis Van Gaal and the Belgian seems to be building in confidence with each game. On the left-wing I would play Angel Di Maria, the Argentine has shown glimmers of his early season form in recent matches and playing time will only help to improve on these performances.

Behind the Striker I expect Maroune Fellaini to make an appearance. The Belgium offers United physicality, a factor of play which is often evident in lower league teams. If United are struggling to control the game, Fellaini can also drop back into midfield, breaking up play and offering a physical presence to the midfield, something Herrera and Rooney may lack. In front of Fellaini, Falcao could be given a chance to star in a lone striker role. The Colombian has not shown the form fans would have hoped when he first joined the club, and many put this down to the fact that he was playing alongside Robin Van Persie, a striker with very similar attributes to Falcao. At previous clubs such as Atletico Madrid and Porto, Falcao shined in the lone striker role, and if given the chance he will surely look to show  his worth to Louis Van Gaal and the United faithful in this position.

To sum up, I don’t think this will be a walk in the park for Manchester United, however I can see the Red Devils walk away 2-1 victors.

James Bingham

James Bingham

Hello, my names James and I will be keeping you up to date with football across the globe, as well as offering my own insight!
James Bingham

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