This upcoming Monday sees a fascinating match for all football fans across the globe; a chance to witness a cracking FA Cup game at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Arsenal.
Go here to the Manchester United starting 11 that we’ve picked for the quarter-final tilt.
This Manchester United match preview is from Sports Bank Contributor and emerging journalist Anand Padmanabhan
The outstanding Spanish Goalkeeper David De Gea will be the automatic pick of Louis Van Gaal into the starting team. In the defence, a strong centre back pairing would be Chris Smalling and Argentine Marcos Rojo. There is an anxiety for all United fans around left back Luke Shaw, as his fitness is consistently inconsistent (sustaining periodic injuries and subsequent recovery). The right back will be either Antonio Valencia or the energetic Brazilian Rafael.
In midfield, our predicted trio would be Daley Blind, Angel Di Maria and Ander Herrera.
At present, the major concern for United is the sudden dip in DiMaria’s form. So, there is a slight chance of Belgian Adnan Januzaj getting the nod in starting versus the Londoners.
It’s the right time to slot innovative Spaniard Juan Mata in his favourite number 10 position.
The decisive strikers Radamel Falcao and Captain Wayne Rooney could feature in United’s front-line.
The possible battles to watch:
The dead ball situation (set plays) are very critical for the Reds to score goals against a shaky Arsenal defence, consisting of centre backs Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker.
Another important battle will be the deployment of 4-1-4-1 formation by Arsenal, since they look a more balanced side and threatening in attack with the French forward Olivier Giroud and the enterprising wingers Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott. So, the United players should be careful in passing quick passes and play the game with maximum vigour.
Injury news:
For Manchester United, the only injured player is forward Van Persie (ankle).
For Arsenal, the positive note is that, Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey could feature in the starting team. But central defender Gabriel Paulista could not play for close to three weeks, as he suffered a hamstring in the previous fixture at Queens Park Rangers. Energetic midfielder Jack Wilshere is still recovering from November’s ankle surgery.
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