Wayne Rooney believes Manchester United must gamble when they take on Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
The all-Manchester affair will take place at Wembley on Saturday and United can stop City trying to emulate their treble achievement of 1999. Pep Guardiola's side have Champions League final against Inter Milan to come and have wrapped up the Premier League title to claim their fifth top flight crown in six years.
United are seeking a second trophy in Erik ten Hag's first season in charge at Old Trafford having beaten Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final. Ahead of the FA Cup showpiece, the big question from a United perspective is how Ten Hag opts to set up his side. And Rooney feels the Old Trafford boss can emulate the success enjoyed by Jose Mourinho at Chelsea to see off City.
READ MORE: How United should line-up vs Fulham in Premier League fixture
Speaking to the Times, Rooney said: "How could they do it? Well, I think Erik ten Hag has to gamble a bit. What City have had so much of during the incredible run they’re on is control. Teams have put 11 men behind the ball against them, hoping to keep it tight, but that has meant City not having to worry too much about what the opposition may do with the ball. It has allowed them to play the game they want to play.
"My strategy would be to go the other way and ask City to do something different. I’d try something similar to a tactic José Mourinho sometimes deployed in his first spell at Chelsea, where he would get the likes of Joe Cole, Arjen Robben and Damien Duff to take up ‘half’ positions where they didn’t come all the way back and defend when Chelsea were out of possession but instead cheat a bit and wait higher up the pitch in areas from which they could counterattack as soon as Chelsea won the ball back.
"We always found it difficult to play against. When you were attacking, you were thinking, ‘Where’s Robben? Where’s Cole? Who’s staying back? What’s the communication like to make sure we’re dealing with those players?’
"United could do similar using Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial: defend with eight players and have those two waiting in counterattack positions. That would ask City different questions: should John Stones still come into the midfield or would it leave that side of the pitch open for Rashford to run into? Should Kyle Walker go high or would this open up space?
"I would set United up 4-4-2, with Martial and Rashford up top and a very solid midfield behind them: Casemiro in the middle with Christian Eriksen, or even Scott McTominay, and Bruno Fernandes and Fred either side. I’d want to keep the distances between my eight defending players small.
"Everyone in football knows that if you get a good block of eight players, do it well and keep your discipline, it’s very difficult to break you down. United have had a few successes against City in recent years playing on the counterattack — often with Rashford and Martial to the fore.
"Playing my way carries risks but I feel you have to risk it against City and ask questions that force them to do something different. Gamble and they may punish you but if you just sit back you’re going to get punished by them anyway — so why not take the initiative and try something?"
Get your hands on our 48-page souvenir United v City FA Cup Final print supplement by clicking here.
READ NEXT:
