The RED side of Manchester

Ole has probably made some rotations. Pogba, Matic, Greenwood and Cavani getting a start. Bissaka back in again to the starting lineup. Can they go to second in the table before the end of 2020. Hopefully they will play with some confidence. Bailly is back in in the back four as well. Can the Red Devils get that win they are looking for? 4-2-3-1 against 3-5-2. First Half ManUtd with the possession but Wolves with the better chances. Rashford missing all his driving runs seems to be a worry and eventually moved from left to right switching places with Greenwood. Looks like Rashford is better off with Martial. Defence has held the phase of Wolves, but if the Red Devils continue to fail creating chances then its will be a difficult game. Traore seems to be a threat, even though the middle of the park has quite a few creative ones for ManUtd, they don't seem to be taking them on. May be a much more lively defensive midfield might help.  Second half Started off lively with Wolves trying...

A tricky one for the 2nd spot but The Red Devils have a game in hand. The results in the last 5 for ManUtd has been the best in the league with no losses and one draw closely followed by Liverpool and Mancity with two draws each. Was a little surprised that Pogba was left in the bench, Fred and McTominay take the defensive midfield. The formation was more like 3-4-2-1 with Shaw and James supporting the midfield. Bruno and Rashford supporting Martial upfront. Ole has just filled the midfield and the weak-link for me is the right side with James more a player upfront on the wings and this may expose Lindelof. First half The Red Devils started with a upper hand. Rashford missed a sitter in the 2nd min. Have seen this earlier, when a team misses chances upfront they are made to pay later on and fingers crossed, I was hoping this does not happen. Rashford made up for the miss and converted one around the 23rd min. One up, I haven't seen ManUtd loosing the game from here for sometime now...

A surprise with five changes, no Pogba in the first eleven. 4-2-3-1, Fred and McTominay acting as cover for the defence. Dan James comes in to inject some phase upfront, Rashford on the other can attach with some phase. Fernandes the reliable one in the middle. Leeds on the other hand can inflict enough damage if ManUtd fail to convert. Leeds will provide a lot of changes but it will able create as many or more.    The Game Bielsa will never change his tactics against the best of teams. Attach, attach and attach, create as many chances and score as many as possible. But one thing that was lacking in the Leads game was the discipline in defence. McTominay scored twice in the span of 3 min and that changed the complexion of the game.  Number of shots 26 to 17 in favour of ManUtd Shots on goal 14 to 3 again in favour of ManUtd Position 41% to 59% in favour of Leeds Number of passes 347 to 471 in favour of Leeds and passing accuracy 77% to 83% in favour of...

Pre Match A mid week fixture, ManUtd travelling to South Yorkshire. The Blades haven't had the best of season so far. Not a particularly bad side, a very hardworking and the tide can turn its way in no time. The Red Devils are slightly settling into the league post their exit from the Champions league. Henderson at the goal facing his old side. 4-3-2-1, regular Tellas coming into the back, 5 in the middle with Matic and Pogba in front of the defence, Rashford, Fernandes and Greenwood supporting Martial up front. A good team on paper but can they with stand the aggressive Sheffield United team. First half Henderson fumbles in the 5th min and the Blades capitalise. The "conceding early" is becoming a regular for ManUtd and then it is catching up. One advantage was that the Blades will continue to hold a high line in defence and that was enough for Rashford to have a sublime touch and convert an over head pass. Followed by a exquisite pass by Pogba to find Martial.  Pogba lo...

Match Preview A dent in the Champions league bring The Red Devils back to Europa definitely does not go well with the fans, a frustrating swing of ups and downs in performance. This season probably will be Ole's toughest year and if he can make through with a satisfactory ranking and may be an odd cup, will pave way for a longer stint. City on the other hand have some first time stats that are so unlike them especially with Pep being the Boss. Number of clean sheets, pundits taking about good ManCity defence was so unheard off in the recent past.  Martial recovering from the niggle but in the bench, Cavani injury, Fred and Shaw back in the lineup. De Gea back in the post. Pogba taking a much more left wing role, an unheard of position for the French man.         First half McTominay and Fred were tightly marking De Bruyne that shut down some of the creative moves, but with his class he did find a few but not fruitful enough for City. With Jesus trying to prove h...

Team selection Cavani, Donny and Henderson in goal getting a start with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Looks good on paper but West Ham can frustrate the visitors. West Ham's position on the table is also a testimony to their form and cannot be taken lightly. For the first time we had fans returning and irrespective of the team they support, I am sure the players would have liked it.  First half     Cavani down the middle, Martial on the left and Van De Beek for the link up play. Pogba and McTominay playing the defensive midfield role and it is understood that Pogba's instinct is always to move forward. First half had hardly anything for ManUtd, Cavani's early striker runs did not have supply and Donny's one touch passes never really contributed to any penetrating moves. Cavani and Donny trying to make a mark, Martial down the left which is not so happening position for the French man. Pogba was still unsure of playing a defensive or offensive part. West Ham with a 4-2 in the mi...

Productive away games Away games for Manchester United have been productive. Southampton have been in form this season and sure pose a threat to the away game winning streak that Manchester United have been enjoying. No surprise, Donny getting a start, no change in the defence, Matic, Fred defensive midfield, Donny and Bruno supporting the striker. Rashford and Greenwood up front. Up by two goals Manchester started well and dominated position but a moments brilliance from a corner and a free kick turned the game towards The Saints. Not particularly a bad performance but still were behind and many a fans would have written it off for a Manchester United win.  The comeback Given the inconstancy, any sort of comeback should see an early goal that would reduce the deficit for Manchester United. That was exactly what Bruno did and then the other goals came in with Cavani scoring two.  Take away   Glimpses of some retro Manchester United attitude. But I still don't see any stra...

Win against Everton had relieved some pressure off Ole and a win against the Turkish side in the Champions league was comforting for all Manchester United fans. Mata a surprise inclusion and home games have not looked good in recent time. Fluctuating performance was probably the only worry among the fans. Lacked creativity   The Baggies were prepared to frustrate Manchester United team and did the same, except for a couple of chances in the beginning of the first half nothing went Manchester United's way. In fact the scare of West Brom scoring early and then the defensive play to frustrate was looming large.  First half ended with a strong finish by the Baggies. If at all they had chances of a 3 points it was the last five minutes of the first half.  It has to be said that Manchester United lacked creative play with both Fred and Matic playing more defensive. Accusation of Fred loosing the ball at some crucial places, was not to stop. Pundits and some Manchester United fa...