Newcastle vs. Manchester United: Tactical Preview of Premier League Game
Manchester United's aesthetically uninspiring, yet surprisingly efficient charge toward the Premier League's top four continues on Wednesday as they travel to St James' Park. The Red Devils have won seven of their last 10 meetings at the stadium and will hope to continue that good form.
Newcastle United News
Manager John Carver has a host of injury concerns, but having beaten Aston Villa at the weekend, he will feel he can rotate a little ahead of a free pass against Manchester United.
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Jack Colback serves the second game of his suspension and WhoScored.com indicates he will be joined on the sidelines by Paul Dummett, Cheick Tiote, Remy Cabella and Steven Taylor. Massadio Haidara was stretchered off against Villa, but the player insists he's fit, per Lee Ryder of The Chronicle.
Papiss Cisse should get the nod up front after scoring the goal in the last match, and Ayoze Perez's movement makes him usable anywhere across the forward line.
Manchester United News
Louis van Gaal has one certain absentee in Robin van Persie and only a handful of doubts. Phil Jones and Luke Shaw will be pushing to play.
The strongest possible back line will likely include Shaw, and that moves Marcos Rojo to centre-back after deputising very well in the full-back position. The 4-2-3-1 formation could stay too, providing a slight element of stability that United haven't really had this season.
Ander Herrera has seemingly forced his way into the XI and will stay alongside Daley Blind in the engine room, while Radamel Falcao is at risk of dropping out following another non-showing. Wayne Rooney could move up top, while Angel Di Maria's poor 45-minute showing against Sunderland will need to be investigated.
Key Point 1: Slow, Frustrating United
Not to deter floating voters or neutrals completely, but this match—on paper—has all the makings of a midweek filler.
Luckily football isn't played on paper, but we're hoping United snap out of their funk in order to entertain here.
Van Gaal's United are very slow—that much is obvious.
Gary Neville has urged fans of the club to embrace this reality in order to fully move on from the David Moyes era, per The Telegraph, but it's harder said than done for those wistfully wishing for a return of attacking, incisive football.
The pass combinations for the Red Devils' victory over Sunderland tell the whole story: Blind to Herrera, Herrera to Blind, Valencia to Herrera and Smalling to Herrera were the highest-recorded links.
Herrera in particular ignored several chances to speed up play with an attacking pass, instead opting for an easy, sideways option.
Blind has been asked by Van Gaal to never lose the ball, which is fine, but the others in the side appear to have adopted the same concept and we're now faced with a very efficient, star-studded XI playing very boring, safe football.
Key Point 2: Newcastle Must Attack Vertically
Newcastle are a difficult team to gauge. They appear to be caught between eras, reigns and styles.
They have the ability to play uptempo or slower due to the vast array of options in their squad, but with Colback unable to mind the midfield with his strong passing and positional discipline, it would be wise to go for the throat when facing United.
Ander, Blind, Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling: All four have individual concerns and pale, either mobility- or strength-wise, against the trickery of Perez, the power of Moussa Sissoko or the athleticism of Yoan Gouffran.
Run at the heart of the United midfield, and see what they give up. It's likely to be either space or time, as defensively the team have looked fairly ropey this year. Shaw leaves gaps, while Evans can be run at.
Every season, Sissoko has three or four games in which he simply takes over. This is a fixture he can turn by himself.
