When Manchester United open the Premier League season versus Swansea on Aug 16th, who will be the starting XI? There’s a long time to figure it out, as United don’t even begin their preseason until Wednesday night in Los Angeles, California.
They flew to the United States today to begin their preseason exhibition. One ESPN FC talking head made his early projection of the potential Manchester United starting XI today on the daily television program.
Gary Bailey made his lineup as if he were Louis van Gaal…Or what he thinks Louis van Gaal will do. Bailey views LVG as a more attacking minded manager, hence the lineup below. Van Gaal could help Shinjj Kagawa who struggled under David Moyes. This XI shows how much there are needs to be filled at defender and in the midfield. It reminds us that there’s plenty of work left to be done in this transfer window.
Robin van Persie
Juan Mata Wayne Rooney Shinji Kagawa
Ander Herrera Phil Jones
Luke Shaw Chris Smalling Johnny Evans Rafael
David de Gea
Depending on your browser, the starting XI may not display as it should in the standard format. Apologies for that, I drew it up the correct way. Anyway, feel free to post your 2014-15 Manchester United starting XI in the comments below, and express your opinion on the lineup Bailey choose.
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports and Yahoo! The Postgame. He’s been a guest on news talk shows all across the world. Banks has been featured in numerous media outlets including NFL.com, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Deadspin, ESPN, NBC, the History Channel and more. President Barack Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)