MANCHESTER UNITED’S best hope of beating Manchester City is by exploiting the space in behind their left-back.
Pep Guardiola has all three available now Oleksandr Zinchenko has returned after a six-week injury layoff.
Man Utd’s best chance of beating City is by exploiting their left-back
Benjamin Mendy and Angelino have played there in recent games and one thing all three have in common is how attack-minded they are.
Bringing Zinchenko in cold for a huge derby would be a big risk.
But from United’s perspective of how to take advantage down that side, it doesn’t matter who starts.
City tend to send one full-back up higher than the other, with right-back Kyle Walker often tucking inside to make the second defensive midfielder.
So with the left-back given license to continuously attack, the area in behind him is where United need to look to hurt them on the counter.
Daniel James is one of the quickest players in the Premier League and will likely be the one to try to cause trouble down United’s right flank.
Another thing in their favour is that Fernandinho looks set to play as City’s left-sided centre-back.
We all know how good the Brazilian is as a defensive midfielder. But as a natural right-footer, playing in that position could cause some issues.
Firstly, he will not be tackling with his stronger foot when James is flying down the wing.
Secondly, the natural tendency for a defender playing on their wrong side is to drift in centrally whenever they can.
If Fernandinho does that he will leave huge spaces between himself and the touchline, where James will be operating.
And with City’s left-back playing high, these gaps could end up massive.
For United to get any success, first and foremost, they have to make sure they are solid in defence.
Danny Higginbotham, The Analyst
Even if Fernandinho moves just four or five yards more central, then that’s enough space for James to exploit.
For United to get any success through this avenue then, first and foremost, they have to make sure they are solid in defence.
With City’s movement off the ball opening up space for others, they must make sure there are no gaps between defence and midfield.
If they can do that and break quickly down City’s left, they could be in business.
While City are justifiably strong favourites, United have the wind in their sails after Wednesday’s impressive 2-1 win against Tottenham.
Marcus Rashford was excellent playing on the left and now has nine goals in ten games for the club.
Rash is playing as a winger but ends up in central positions as he drifts on to his right foot.
He’s much better facing the opposition rather than playing with his back to goal — he is more involved in the game, as we are now seeing.
United have fared well against the better teams, beating Spurs, Leicester and Chelsea, while they are the only team to get points off Liverpool.
This is a huge task for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team. But if they can use their pace to hurt City on the counter, anything is possible.
This Saturday’s Premier league sees Everton take on Chelsea and Man City v Man Utd
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
