(Football news) Manchester United are about to enter hell on earth. The upcoming period will make or break their season. United's next five fixtures are against Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham in the league and Atalanta twice in the Champions League. The fixtures are without a doubt the most challenging period in Manchester United's season.
Manchester United had already been struggling to find their feet this season and to make matters worse, Raphael Varane has picked up an injury. The Frenchman was subbed off in the Nations League final and is now reported to be out for at least two weeks with a thigh injury while Harry Maguire was already out with calf injury. Maguire's return date is still not confirmed but the defender is surely out for the Leicester City game.
Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly are the two defenders who are expected to feature. Phil Jones could make a shock return to the side after 629 days out due to various injuries. The crisis heavily affects Manchester United's plans for the game. The injury clearly suggests that Solskjaer will have to go with two holding midfielders. Therefore the possibility of playing Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes in midfield with only one of Namanja Matic, Fred and Scott Mctominay goes out of the window.
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Varane and Maguire were a perfect partnership of a strong center back and a more agile one. Lindelof and Bailly both have very similar traits with good pace but not enough strength and heading ability. United will also lose a lot of power on attacking set pieces as Lindelof and Bailly have scored a total of only 6 goals in their club career so far.
Playing with two holding midfielders would mean that Pogba will have to relocate on the left wing due to which Manchester United will lose a fair amount of pace. Bruno Fernandes this season has stopped dropping deeper which means that there will be a lack of creativity and United will be slow to get the ball forward. The injuries further expose the lack of a proper number 6 in this Manchester United squad.
Manchester United cannot afford to play keep ball anymore and have to rely on low block and counter attack strategy. Solskjaer will be hoping to have Maguire back and fit before their all important UCL clash against Atalanta. In the Premier League, Solskjaer’s team have only kept one clean sheet even in the presence of their first choice center backs, a stat that might be misleading considering the defensive duo were getting accustomed to each other’s playing styles. However, with Bailly and Lindelof at the helm for the next few weeks, Luke Shaw looking like a shadow of his former self and the quality of opposition, it’s unlikely that Manchester United will be keeping many more clean sheets for the foreseeable future.
