Man United were almost humiliated by Manchester City in the derby and if they cannot get their act together quick enough then Spurs will also do the same.
Manchester United welcome Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League next weekend and Conte’s side go into this match at the back of a 5-0 win over Everton. Spurs might be lacking consistency this season but the way Man United are playing, Rangnick himself has a lot of things to worry about.
After the 4-1 loss to City, Manchester United have fallen out of the top four and if they cannot pick up all three points vs Spurs, their Champions League dream will well and truly be over. The home side have players who can very easily match up against Tottenham but it looks like all these players have forgotten how to play as a team and this is turning out to be the primary issue for the manager.
Against City, United looked all over the place and if the players do not decide to give their 100% and play as a cohesive unit then no matter what tactics Rangnick uses, they will never succeed. The OT outfit are currently fifth on the table and they have already played more games than the likes of Spurs and Arsenal meaning they just can’t afford to drop any more points.
Man United’s possible tactics vs Spurs:
With Ronaldo missing, Ralf Rangnick had tried to use a false nine against Manchester City but it’s pretty clear that these bunch of players have no idea how to implement a particular strategy.
These players are the reason why the interim manager had to shelve his plans of using a 4-2-2-2 formation and we don’t think Rangnick will try anything out of the box this weekend as well.
Dimitar Berbatov has called on Ralf Rangnick to DROP Harry Maguire #mufc pic.twitter.com/FeQIGQHqT0
— UF (@UtdFaithfuls) March 9, 2022
He will go with a simple 4-2-3-1 system with Fred and McTominay playing as the defensive screen and there’s a chance he could ask his players to sit back and play on the counter.
Counter-attacking football is something which has been the most successful for United in recent years so we think Ralf Rangnick should stick with this same strategy on Saturday as well.
Man United team news for the Spurs game:
Raphael Varane and Luke Shaw missed the Manchester City game due to COVID so they are doubts for the Spurs game as well. The pair had tested positive sometime in midweek last week so they will probably be touch and go.
If they are fit then they will surely get starts and if Varane is available then we think the manager is going to drop Harry Maguire to the bench.
If Shaw is not available then Alex Telles is going to keep his place in the side but Aaron Wan-Bissaka will way for Diogo Dalot as the manager looks to add some pace and creativity down the right-wing.
Nothing much is going to change in the midfield region meaning Paul Pogba will have to be content with a place on the bench. Pogba played as a winger/false nine in the Manchester City game but he’s not expected to get a start against Spurs.
Rashford is reportedly unhappy with the lack of game time and might look to leave in the summer but the academy graduate is in line to start this weekend, especially if Man United want to play on the break.
Cristiano Ronaldo missed the derby due to a hip injury and his sudden absence came as a surprise to many. Some rumours had claimed that he did not want to play because he was not going to be selected in the first XI but speaking after the match, Rangnick did come out to admit that Ronaldo was indeed injured.
The manager had updated: “Our doctor came to see me on Friday, before training, and told me Cristiano cannot train with the problems he has with his hip flexor. The same was true on Saturday and that’s why he couldn’t be part of the squad.”
Ronaldo has returned to training on Wednesday but there’s still no guarantee if he is fit for selection or not.
Working hard to return to full fitness! ✊🔴
🇵🇹 @Cristiano #MUFC | #MUNTOT pic.twitter.com/Ode3OqnWtF
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 9, 2022
Cavani is another player who was missing against Man City and the manager had admitted that even though Cavani had trained properly, he pulled out at the last moment claiming that he was still not match-fit.
The Man United boss said: “Edi trained the last few days and trained well but he’s still feeling it after those three training sessions. Yesterday afternoon, he was still not fit to play. It’s a fact. I cannot force a player to play.”
We are not yet sure if either Ronaldo or Cavani will be fit or not but if either of them is available, then the Man United boss will surely not go ahead with a false nine system.
