Manchester United vs. Hull: How the Reds Should Line Up in Premier League Game
Manchester United's win against Arsenal was a gentle winter warmer for fans who need reminding how it feels to beat one of the Premier League big guns on their own patch. The victory thawed the frost surrounding United's pandemic injury crisis and brought some relief to Louis van Gaal and his troops.
United now entertain a Hull City team who are without a win in five Premier League matches and sit 16th in the form guide—the Tigers' last win was seven weeks ago, at home to Crystal Palace.
But Steve Bruce's side are a tough outfit and have come away with points at both the Emirates and Anfield this term.
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Here, we take a look at the starting XI that LvG might pick for the encounter, reviewing the tactics of both managers:
A Fluid Approach Is the Key to Beating Hull
Steve Bruce has been tactically consistent for Hull's most recent away matches, playing a solid 3-5-2 at both Arsenal and Liverpool, and gaining well earned draws.
Nothing suggests he will not set up like this once again as he takes his side to Old Trafford in an attempt to sit back and counter-attack.
Hull offer a different kind of challenge to the one United faced at the Emirates last Saturday, and Louis van Gaal knows the merits of 3-5-2 better than anyone. But he will also know the weaknesses of the formation and will try to negate Bruce's shape.
United should set up in a formation which allows them to be fluid and a variation of 4-2-3-1 will aid this. Van Gaal has favoured a 4-1-4-1 in recent times, and the team could very easily slip from one tactic—switching to the other—in quick succession.
Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini are likely to continue after their strong performances at Arsenal; the two international players appear to be LvG's preference in the centre during Daley Blind's enforced absence.
With these two anchoring the side, it allows the forwards to interchange at will—pushing Hull's five midfielders onto the back foot.
The key for United is to not force Angel Di Maria into an out-and-out winger's role. In a 4-2-3-1 he can interchange with either team-mate from the wider attacking unit—in this case, Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata.
Rooney and Mata will both feel comfortable stepping inside, allowing Di Maria to play a freer role as he bombs forward.
Restricting Di Maria's movement would be a huge error by Van Gaal, and we witnessed a lack of productivity from the Argentine in his touchline hugging role against West Brom, Chelsea, Manchester City and Crystal Palace.
Di Maria must be allowed to play centrally and deeper—affording him the room to run at the midfield and use his exceptional dribbling talents to unlock the opponent.
Time to Start James Wilson
It seems Radamel Falcao is almost back to fitness, per Nick Lustig of the Daily Star, but the match against Hull is not the time to start him—with a substitute role suiting the returning Colombian star.
But Robin van Persie's lack of form has been duly noted, and it is probably time to take the Dutchman out of the firing line.
RvP has looked a shadow of himself in recent games as he has been asked to play in a more demanding attacking role than that of a primary centre-forward.
LvG likes to defend from the front and Van Persie has facilitated this—but to the detriment of his goalscoring.
James Wilson has patiently sat on the bench and waited for his opportunity, and Saturday will be a great chance for the young player to finally start a game in this campaign.
Wilson is a lethal prospect and without doubt a future England striker. His turn of speed is frightening, and he is a predator in the opposition box.
With a trio of Rooney, Di Maria and Mata feeding him—he will score.
Once everyone is fit, Falcao is likely to take over the role as striker if he can find his form and get games under his belt. But Wilson deserves his chance and he will scare Hull's three centre-backs with his movement and intelligence.
In the same way that Paul Pogba once needed to start matches for United—the time has now come for Wilson.
Left-Back a Huge Issue for United
The news that Luke Shaw will be missing for three weeks with an ankle injury, per Simon Jones of the Mail Online, is hugely problematic for Van Gaal—with his three first-choice options at left-back now injured.
Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind are the manager's natural replacements in the position, but both are out for extended periods.
This leaves the coach with options that are less than perfect: Reece James played left-back during United's pre-season tour, but he is not ready for the combat of life in the Premier League—and he will be joining Rotherham on loan soon, per Jones.
Ashley Young featured as a wing-back against Arsenal as a makeshift replacement for Shaw but he does not have the defensive knowledge to play in a flat back-four, as LvG is likely to select against Hull.
That leaves Tyler Blackett to play in the position, allowing Jonny Evans to come back into the side after his own injury problems.
Paddy McNair has performed well when asked to step into the team, and his exclusion would have nothing to do with his current form. And if United's senior centre-back is not ready for Saturday's match—as could well be the case—McNair will confidently continue in his defensive berth.
But Evans would offer vital extra experience in the middle with Chris Smalling and allow Blackett to move out wide—a position he has played many times before the 2014-15 season.
Blackett will not be able to add the attacking threat of Shaw or Young, but he is a defensively sound individual who can tuck inside as Antonio Valencia gets forward on the opposite flank.
After a strong success against Arsene Wenger's side it is easy to become giddy and get carried away—but the win was only three points, and a failure against Hull will nullify the euphoria of this past week.
United must be defensively solid against Hull and not allow them to play effectively on the counter—and the best way of doing this is to be deadly in attack.
Carrick and Fellaini will be hugely influential in the match, and if they remain resolute United should have enough firepower to get the job done. But caution is advised: The Red Devils need to find a habit of winning matches concurrently, and we have not yet seen Van Gaal's team win three games in a row this season.
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