Manchester United vs. Manchester City: Tactical Preview of North-West Derby
The Manchester derby is upon us, with a major footballing city once again being divided by the distinct colours of deep red and sky blue. Manchester United host Manchester City in a match that will have telling implications in the race for automatic UEFA Champions League qualification.
Manchester United News
Louis van Gaal would be unwise to tinker with his XI given how well they've been playing of late. They seem settled and happy to be on the pitch together, so only injury or illness should force the hand of change.
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Chris Smalling missed the win against Aston Villa due to illness with Phil Jones stepping in, so perhaps he's a returning starter, but he should be the only one. Michael Carrick will again hold in midfield behind Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini, while Juan Mata and Ashley Young will continue their destructive roles on the wings.
Daley Blind has been superb at left-back in recent weeks and links with Young superbly, while Wayne Rooney should continue up front despite Robin van Persie declaring himself "fit and able," per Sky Sports.
Manchester City News
Per WhoScored.com, Manuel Pellegrini has no injury concerns and no suspensions to deal with ahead of this tie. It's remarkable that such a large squad is so fit and ready to go.
Wilfried Bony will likely come in for Edin Dzeko, who was poor at Selhurst Park on Monday night, to partner Sergio Aguero up front. Martin Demichelis, Bacary Sagna, Jesus Navas and Fernandinho could all be rotated out of the XI, too.
David Silva played very well in the last game and will likely be the source of all things good again, drifting in off the left to play between the lines and feed Aguero early on.
Key Point 1: City Must Pick Up Late Ander Runs
Ander Herrera keeps scoring the same (or very similar) goal, and it's maddening to see opposing midfields and coaches fail to pick up on it. Ander is playing very well, granted, but he's making it look too easy.
Despite not scoring many at Athletic Club, even under Marcelo Bielsa, he appears to have perfected the art of the late run toward the edge of the box. It's very Frank Lampard-esque, so teams should be very aware of how it works and how he does it.
United tend to feed the ball left to cross (through Blind or Young) aerially or right to play it back in across the ground (through Mata). Mata is very adept at picking out the right option when creeping toward the byline, and the closer you get to it, the wider the cone of vision for a cut-back becomes.
With Fellaini a wrecking ball in the box and Rooney a clever near-post runner, it's very easy to forget about Ander waiting to sweep home another finish from 18 yards. City must trust themselves to deal with Fellaini and Rooney one vs. one and must task Fernandinho/Fernando with gluing themselves to Herrera in these situations. They'll be 1-0 down swiftly if they don't organise themselves properly.
Key Point 2: Big Performances
City need a big performance, or perhaps three or four big performances, to snap out of this very poor run of form. Per Goal.com, Vincent Kompany has said that the derby has come at the right time, that it will help motivate and re-calibrate this side, and there are several individuals who can step up here.
Yaya Toure, despite his goal against Palace, needs to re-find form. He may have scored on Monday, but he slammed at least four other shots way, way over the bar. Navas was poor from the right wing and James Milner could come in. He needs to continue to stretch the pitch and provide width but also produce a far better end product for his strikers to utilise.
Dzeko did very little right at Selhurst Park, struggling to hold the ball up and struggling to find Aguero with his flick-ons. Bony, who should start instead, will be better at latching on and helping his side up the field and will also link better with Aguero as he doesn't try to be too fancy too often.
Finally, the defensive line needs picking up and shaking. We've broached the subject of Kompany's poor form of late, but the entire line need to get their heads together and decide if they're playing high, low, what their stance is and how open they'll be given they have little protection.
