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da lvbet： Manchester United will be hoping for a return to form against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday evening as the Spanish champions visit in the first leg of their quarter-final tie – and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must make at least two selection alterations to allow it to happen.
The PSG fluke
In the previous round United’s stunning comeback win at Paris Saint-Germain saw them progress, with the midfield duo of Scott McTominay and Fred impressing together on the night.
However, in the longer run, this hasn’t been a good thing for the club as it seemingly made Solskjaer believe that the pair could work well together in the wake of their fortunate evening.
Since then the performances of both in Paris have proved to be either a fluke or one-offs and that wasn’t illustrated more perfectly than last week at Molineux.
Despite the former’s goal, McTominay and Fred were overrun by Wolverhampton Wanderers, really struggling and scarcely looking like they belonged as Wolves snatched a 2-0 win – the Red Devils’ third defeat in four matches.
And so it must be back to the drawing board for Solskjaer for an encounter with a side much stronger than the Wolves one he’s lost twice to in recent times, but the aforementioned two changes can turn things around at Old Trafford.
What are they?
As you may have guessed Man United need to axe the pairing of McTominay and Fred for the clash with the Spaniards; but who replaces them?
Well, in the absence of Nemanja Matic who looks set to miss the big match, the answer is Andreas Pereira and Juan Mata – both need to be promoted from the substitutes’ bench.
United require the creativity of the former against an opposition he knows very well from his homeland and the youth and freshness of the latter.
This is an excellent blend for success in the midfield and much better balanced than the McTominay and Fred combination, which simply cannot be risked.
What kind of formation Solskjaer chooses after making these personnel changes is another matter, though one thing’s for sure, make them and United are giving themselves the best chance of slaying their fellow European giants.