Yeovil vs. Manchester United: How Red Devils Should Line Up in FA Cup

Manchester United travel to Huish Park to face Yeovil Town on Sunday, but how should Louis van Gaal's men line up? 

Yeovil currently sit bottom of League One, and more than 60 teams separate the two sides' league positions.

Yeovil are on the back of three straight defeats and should not offer too much resistance to United; however, MK Dons' 4-0 victory over the Red Devils in the League Cup earlier in the season and United's recent poor away form combine to mean that Van Gaal should not take victory for granted. 

There is a need to offer squad players some time on the pitch, but this has to be balanced with the need for United to actually win the game. 

Let's take a look at how Van Gaal should set out United's stall.

Defence

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United's defence has been the subject of much discussion, but the truth remains that in spite of the changes to the system and the personnel, they have conceded only one more than Chelsea and Manchester City in the league this season. 

For this game, however, Van Gaal should revert to a back four. With Rafael and Luke Shaw both fit enough to play against Stoke City, and Ashley Young pulling up injured, the Dutchman should play to his available players' strengths and use them as full-backs rather than wing-backs. 

A centre-back pairing of Tyler Blackett and Patrick McNair would be an intriguing option, and their performances this season would suggest it could work. 

Van Gaal may well bring in a more experienced defender alongside one of Blackett and McNair—perhaps Chris Smalling as he works back towards full fitness.

David De Gea should keep his place in goal as an insurance policy against defensive errors.

Midfield

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Michael Carrick should be given a rest for this one. A busy programme of games since his return from injury has seen Carrick very involved in proceedings. Replacing Carrick with Ander Herrera should allow the former Athletic Bilbao man a chance to reclaim some match sharpness. 

Herrera has been relatively peripheral this season, but he has almost always performed well when called upon. 

If Van Gaal looks to youth to supplement his thin ranks in midfield, Ben Pearson could see a first-team debut. A less edifying option would be to offer some first-team minutes to Anderson, but that ploy worked poorly against MK Dons. 

Juan Mata should retain his place to help create chances.

Attack

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Adnan Januzaj has had a poor season so far, but he should be given a chance in this game as he looks to rebuild some confidence. If Van Gaal sets up with four at the back and three in the middle, a front three of Januzaj, Wayne Rooney and young James Wilson could be effective. 

With Radamel Falcao's return to fitness needing careful management and Robin van Persie having played a great deal of football in recent weeks, giving those two a rest in favour of playing a couple of the first-team squad's youngsters seems sensible. 

Here is a suggested XI for the game: 

De Gea; Rafael, McNair, Blackett, Shaw

Herrera, Pearson, Mata

Januzaj, Rooney, Wilson 

Please feel free to share yours in the comments below!