It looks like Ruben Amorim will not be Manchester United’s manager until after the November International Break.
He has impressed at Sporting Lisbon; he’s won a couple of Portuguese titles, and they want to keep hold of him for a couple of the big games they’ve got coming up. This means that we will see a little bit more of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s tricky Reds.
After Eric Ten Hag’s stint, we saw the first look at Van Nistelrooy’s gameplay as interim manager with a 5-2 victory over, let’s be honest, Leicester’s B team in the League Cup.
Despite the struggles that the United team has had, a win against Chelsea today moves them to within four points of being in the top four.
Chelsea lost 2-0 to Newcastle in the League Cup, but are progressing pretty well in the league. Maresca has got a nice balance to his team; he’s got youth playing, he’s very attack-focused. Some players are thriving in the system, especially now that some of the injuries have eased off for him.
Chelsea will be aiming for a top-four finish, and with their form and the depth that they’ve got in the squad, everyone would expect that they’re going to be very much in the hunt for that.
Chelsea – Player To Watch
The form of Cole Palmer has to be a particular highlight. He’s on absolute fire at the moment and seemingly can’t have a bad game. So, he’s going to be a problem for United’s midfield and defense.
He’s going to be the player that we are watching out for in terms of how does he set him up? He really does emphasize possession-based football, patient in the buildup, positional discipline.
Palmer focuses on all those sorts of ball control, high-scoring opportunities that you would expect for someone that is a little bit of a Guardiola alumni.
So, we’ve absolutely got to watch out for Cole Palmer in this one. He is in blistering form; deal with him, you’ve got half a chance. Although Chelsea have got goals in Jackson and Madueke, but he, Palmer is the main guy supplying them.
Like, you imagine Manchester United had a guy that had those sort of numbers this season, they’d be in a whole different place in the league.
Maresca’s Formation & Tactics
Enzo uses the 4-3-3, occasionally that looks like a 4-2-3-1. It gives him balance in attack, whilst ensuring a little bit of defensive stability. Fullbacks are crucial, as they are with Pep, and you’ll often see them invert into midfield to create a bit of support in there, allowing the wingers to maintain the width and try and stretch the opposition defense.
A key to Maresca’s philosophy is building attacks from the back. The keeper and the defenders are encouraged to go short, that constant pass-and-move thing that you see from all sorts of Guardiola-influenced teams.
They draw opponents or try to draw opponents out of position, and they try and create openings through patient ball circulation.
The midfield is another key area for Maresca is the defensive midfielder is going to act as a bit of a tempo controller. Chelsea don’t quite have a Rodri, but they’re currently using Caicedo for that role to come in to dictate the tempo and facilitate transitions.
Then they have two advanced midfielders or number 8s, that are expected to make aggressive runs into the final third, to try and exploit the spaces in between the lines, and support the attack. That movement that creates overloads, disrupts defensive structures, and looks to try and score goals, create chances in the same way that you would expect Guardiola to as well.
He does seem to like a quite organized press, and aggression in pressing can fluctuate at times. Maresca does emphasize adaptability; you will see tactics tailored to the strengths of his players.
For instance, Cole Palmer has been given maybe a lot more license to do stuff than somebody else might in that area of the pitch. He’s become efficient, he’s getting less touches, but he’s an increasing goal threat, and that shows a real ability for Maresca to recognize individual contributions and get the best out of the team by utilizing them.
Overall, the philosophy that he brings in at Chelsea is about intelligent possession, positional awareness, and playing as a team unit; to try and establish a bit of dominance, and that could be a problem for United.
So, as mentioned a little bit above earlier, Cole Palmer is the star man for Chelsea, seven goals and five assists in just nine Premier League games. He is an absolute joke; he’s got a real deadly ball on him. His final pass is quite direct, his goal-scoring awareness, near enough a goal a game.
Manchester United Expected Lineup & Tactical Approach
In terms of United’s formation and tactics, we don’t expect much tactical fluidity as they don’t have a permanent manager and we don’t know what Ruud would go for since we have watched only one of his game in charge.
So we would just go for an expected starting 11. I would expect Dalot at RB, De Ligt and Lindelof at CB and Martinez at LB. Ruud might be tempted to start Johnny Evans and De Ligt at CB and Martinez at LB.
Why? Because it’s almost four center halves across the back line, and when you’re dealing with a team that’s going to look to overload and put numbers up against you, I think that’s an excellent way to deal with that.
It’s an excellent way to see people rolling into a 3-2 shape, have someone sitting alongside of your CBs, and then have almost five people tasked with defending, and five people tasked with attacking.
Even though Dalot’s had a big say in games lately, but I think he’s had some mistakes in him, if you went with a slightly more defensive setup, and you just said, “Five lads, defend, you lot go and attack,” and deal with that, you could really lock down Chelsea by doing that.
So, I would predict United going with De Ligt, Martinez, Johnny Evans, and Dalot. That doesn’t leave us a lot on the bench, but you should have Lindelof and Mazraoui; it’s more than we’ve had for most of the last season.
In midfield, not too much changes are expected. If Eriksen is back fit today, he can be paired Casemiro. The blend of those two in the last few matches with Ten Hag were fantastic. Let’s build on that momentum a little bit, and let’s bring Bruno back into the mix there as well.
In terms of the forward line, there has to be changes with that. Predictably, Ruud would go with Garnacho, Rashford or Amad, and Hojlund. Hojlund and Rashford, at the moment, are not dropping good performances; someone somewhere needs to just start creating and scoring goals, simple as that.
In terms of the match winner here for United, Eriksen or Casemiro should just watch videos of Ander Herrera and Eden Hazard, and then just channel that same energy into following Cole Palmer to the toilet today. Two legendary rivals rarely disappoint, so it should be a game full of intense action.
Predictions
- BTTS – Both teams to score
- 1+ shot on target for Garnacho.
- 1+ shot on target for Palmer
- Over 9.5 Corners
Now, remember, these are just predictions and no certainty over these options. You’ve got to be over 18 to participate, and football, as we know, can be unpredictable.
Also, this game does deliver drama. There’s certainly no promise of winning here, but I hope it adds to your viewing experience, and it’s certainly no guarantee of a win.
After the match, let’s see how many predictions we got right.
Thanks for stopping by.