Man United v Liverpool: One big game, five big questions

Add as a preferred source on Google

All the talk in the build up to Saturday’s north-west derby is whether Jose Mourinho will confront Liverpool with an attacking formation or revert to type, producing another claustrophobic 90 minutes that mimics the tedious 0-0 draw we saw at Anfield in October. With the Premier League title clearly beyond Manchester United this season, fans want their team to lay down a marker for the 2018/19 campaign with a more confrontational tactical approach.

It’s unlikely they’ll get their way. Mourinho has a new 4-2-2-2 formation he could deploy, as he did in a relatively positive performance against Chelsea two weeks ago, but faced with the pace of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, his conservative instincts will surely kick in.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll see another goalless draw. Liverpool’s full-backs pose a threat that wasn’t present back in October, which could force United’s hand, while Jurgen Klopp’s gegenpressing might just unsettle the less experienced members of the United first XI.

Here are five tactical questions ahead of Liverpool versus Manchester United:

 

1) Will Mourinho experiment with his new ‘midfield square’ formation?
Jose Mourinho’s unusual 4-2-2-2 against Chelsea at Old Trafford a fortnight ago was probably the most creative thing the Portuguese has done since arriving in Manchester. With Anthony Martial lurking alongside Romelu Lukaku to facilitate a quick counter-attack, the ‘square’ (as Mourinho called it) freed both Alexis Sanchez and Paul Pogba to shuttle up and down in the half-spaces without United losing defensive solidity in central midfield.

Mourinho abandoned his new formation for the trip to Selhurst Park only to reinstate a slapdash version during the second half, suggesting a super-narrow midfield is the best way to accommodate all of his best attackers. It’s worth noting that Lukaku’s goals against Crystal Palace and Chelsea came via intricate one-twos around the edge of the D, an area in which Mourinho teams are traditionally clunky and individualistic.

Such a narrow formation could leave United vulnerable to Liverpool’s front three (Crystal Palace found it alarmingly easy to slide through balls between the full-backs and centre-backs on Monday night), although it’s more likely the 4-2-2-2 would help stunt the visitors’ attacks. After all, Jurgen Klopp likes his players to charge directly through the middle to maximise short-passing angles and overwhelm the opposition central midfielders. In a midfield square, Sanchez would be in the perfect position for his headless-chicken tracking back and tackling to actually be effective.

Mourinho, though, is naturally conservative, and continuing with the trial would be a pretty risky move for the derby.

 

2) Are McTominay and Lindelof up to the challenge of Liverpool’s high press?
We all know how Liverpool will approach this game, but the killer paradox of Klopp’s tactical model is that anticipating the gegenpress increases your fear of its powers, and to fear the gegenpress is to allow it to overwhelm you.

United misplaced ten passes in their own half in the opening 24 minutes against Chelsea, betraying a sluggish start that was replicated the following week at Palace, in which they misplaced nine passes in their own half within the first 20 minutes. Victor Lindelof continues to disappoint in possession while Chris Smalling lacks the leadership skills required to calm his centre-back partner (Eric Bailly is unlikely to start following a three-month lay-off). If either player starts nervously Liverpool will pounce.

The same goes for Scott McTominay, the Great Enigma whose continued inclusion speaks to Mourinho’s love of anti-individualism. For the most part McTominay simply occupies space, cutting off passing lines and shimmying across like a cone on wheels controlled by Mourinho’s mind. Faced with the snapping tackles of Klopp’s midfield, this is arguably McTominay’s first real test in a United shirt: does he have the technical ability under pressure to evade the high press?

https://twitter.com/zonalmista/status/971324330377400320

 

3) Will Liverpool’s full-backs hurt United by crossing before they reach Valencia and Young?
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has done a decent impression of Philippe Coutinho, but he isn’t a like-for-like replacement for the Brazilian who, under Klopp, had become a false eight, threading through balls from deep positions to release the front three. In his absence, Liverpool have turned to a more traditional route: crosses.

Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are truly exceptional crossers of the ball, and crucially both can whip them in from the corner of the penalty area. Whereas initially opponents could stunt Liverpool by sitting deep and squeezing out space centrally, Robertson and Alexander-Arnold have forced defences to come out and to widen, in turn creating additional space for the likes of Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.

United’s superb defensive record at Old Trafford (six goals conceded in 14 league games) coupled with their cautious approach to ‘big six’ fixtures means Liverpool won’t be afforded much room. But if the Liverpool full-backs pepper the box with crosses, and from positions before they are forced to confront Antonio Valencia or Ashley Young, then the visitors will increase the tension for United – and possibly force some nervy errors.

 

4) Who will come out on top: Lukaku or Van Dijk?
With eight goals in his last 11 matches Romelu Lukaku is back in form, although the Belgian often struggles when isolated up front in one of Mourinho’s defence-first matches. He managed a meagre 22 touches of the ball when the two sides met at Anfield in October, had one touch in the opposition penalty area during the 1-0 defeat at Chelsea in November, and completed just 37.5% of his passes against Man City in December.

Conversely, Van Dijk is very much a big-game player, something that became immediately apparent to Liverpool fans when he scored the winner against Everton in the 84th minute of his debut. He will be tasked with man-marking Lukaku from corners as well as sitting on top of the 24-year-old to prevent United’s long balls from finding their target.

As United’s sole counter-attacking outlet, suffocate Lukaku and you nullify the team; whoever comes out on top in their duel will almost certainly be on the winning team.

https://twitter.com/EthiopianAnt/status/970977134532530176

 

5) Will substitutes Lallana or Mata pick the lock in a congested game?
Irrespective of whether Mourinho is cautious or expansive in his approach on Sunday, substitutes are likely to play a major role. If McTominay and the rest of the United team successfully outmanoeuvre Liverpool’s high press and limit space in behind then Adam Lallana could have a decisive impact from the bench, but if Klopp’s system exploits a more attack-minded 4-2-2-2 then Juan Mata could have the same effect for the hosts.

Lallana has started just one league game this season but completed a full 90 against FC Porto in midweek, meaning he will almost certainly not be selected for the derby. The England international is precisely the sort of intelligent playmaker who will be looking out for the spaces from the sidelines, ready to drift into pockets when introduced for the final 20 minutes.

The same can be said for Mata, who had a subtle but significant impact on the result at Selhurst Park on Monday. Mata took up a deeper central role than usual, clipping passes into the final third and pushing Palace back towards their own penalty area. He could have a similar influence on the result T Old Trafford should United be chasing a goal.

Manchester United Five Big Questions