After the initial horrors of Brighton and Brentford, Erik ten Hag’s growing influence at Manchester United has been clear to see.
What the former Ajax manager wants from his side long-term isn’t in question, with a desire to build from the back, to squeeze play into the opposition half and to dominate possession. But he has also shown in his early tenure that he is willing to compromise, to be pragmatic, to get the kind of results that, ultimately, will give him the time to build and create a team in the exact image that he wants.
That kind of pragmatism was on show in United’s last Premier League outing - way back on September 4 - when they beat league leaders Arsenal at Old Trafford. For the most part they allowed their visitors to have possession, electing to defend diligently and hit on the counter attack - doing so to great effect, with three fine goals.
This weekend it is likely to be… no, let’s be honest… it WILL be a similar story - only even more extreme.
Manchester City roll into Old Trafford sitting second in the table, unbeaten, boasting the league’s best attack and second best defence. Their goal difference is already six better than the next best and with Erling Haaland having taken to the Premier League like the proverbial duck to water, boasting 11 goals already, it’s little wonder that the champions are heavy favourites to win a fifth title in six years.
Pep Guardiola’s fetish for possession will ensure that they look to dominate and take the game to their hosts from the outset. In the future, there’s no doubt Ten Hag would like to fight fire with fire against the man with whom he previously worked at Bayern Munich, the Dutchman being in charge of Bayern II when the Catalan was leading the Bavarians’ first team. But right now, that’s simply not viable.
So how does he set about trying to stop the City juggernaut? And how does he put United in a position to claim the derby spoils?
Setting the base
Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane have been pretty damn good as a partnership since Ten Hag decided to ditch club captain Harry Maguire.
After seeing his performances for England during the international break, don’t expect to see him make an unlikely comeback here.
But could the Argentine-French partnership do with a little more protection in front this weekend? We know City’s midfielders, particularly Kevin de Bruyne, like to drift into the half spaces, and create overloads with whomever is starting in the wide roles. If Ten Hag starts with Scott McTominay and Christian Eriksen as the double pivot at the base of United’s midfield, that’s a heck of a lot of ground for both men - but particularly the more defensively-minded, athletic McTominay - to cover.
His performances have ensured Casemiro has been eased into Manchester life since his arrival from Real Madrid, with the £60million Brazilian playing just under an hour across three league games so far.
But with the 30-year-old fully fit, could Ten Hag sacrifice one of the forward options, potentially Jadon Sancho, to bring in the five-time Champions League winner and add a bit more steel and protection in front of the back four? With he, Eriksen and McTominay all in situ, it would also have the handy benefit of freeing up Bruno Fernandes that little bit more, allowing him to focus on making a difference in transition.
De Gea’s decision
The single moment that truly defined United’s opening two games of the season was Mathias Jensen’s goal that made it 2-0 in the drubbing by Brentford.
David de Gea didn’t look comfortable playing out from the back the previous week, the Bees knew it and when he played a stupid pass into Eriksen on the edge of the penalty area and with his back to play, they took full advantage.
Since that game, it’s been notable that De Gea has been playing longer. Sometimes he will still go short, but he’s not been wedded to doing only that and has seemingly been given much more leeway to play the percentages himself; as a naturally risk-averse ‘keeper, it’s no surprise that he actively chooses to go long.
Long-term, struggles playing out and desire to stay close to his goal line could eventually be what brings his United career to a close. But this weekend, his desire to not have his team playing in their own defensive third from goal kicks could help, particularly if United can impose themselves physically and win second balls. The question is whether Ten Hag is willing to go completely against his principles by doing it each and every time over the 90 minutes.
Cristiano conundrum
Marcus Rashford or Cristiano Ronaldo : Who leads the United attack this weekend?
After missing pre-season and pushing for a summer exit, Ronaldo has spent most of the season so far watching from the substitutes bench. But he was back in the lineup in their last game, the Europa League win over Sheriff, and scored before heading off for the international break.
In his absence, and that of the injured Anthony Martial, Rashford has appeared to rediscover something of himself playing as the side’s central striker.
The England international may well tell you that he prefers to play from the left, given more creative license and freedom to roam, but he’s a much bigger threat when playing through the middle, running in behind defenders, using his pace to stretch teams and getting shots off quickly. He benefits from having less touches and less time when he receives possession, needing to be permanently sharp, not to mention closer to goal.
Rashford scored twice against Arsenal, exploiting the space Mikel Arteta’s men left in behind and down the channels. He also created the other, as he did in the 1-0 win at Leicester Two goals and two assists, in his last two games ensured he was named Premier League Player of the Month for September.
Similar space as there was against the Gunners will be on offer against a City side who will play a high line and try to condense play into United’s own half. That is something that Rashford can exploit. It is not Ronaldo’s game to any more, the Portuguese superstar not as devilishly quick as he once was.
Regardless, it’ll be a bold decision from Ten Hag to leave him out once again.
