The international break comes to an end this weekend as Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United will face Swansea City on Saturday. The Swans have been in a resurgent form of sorts under Carlos Carvalhal and are likely to pose a better challenge to United than the last time these two sides faced each other. United’s players have been in impressive form in the international break, and Jose will look to better up their performances to keep hold of the second spot in the league.
Team News:
Ashley Young seems to have picked up a knock in the international break. However, the player might recover in time for the game. Daley Blind still remains out with the injury that has kept him out since the last couple of months. Ander Herrera seems to have completely recovered from his hamstring injury and is available for this game. Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones are still doubtful to feature in the game though.
Formation: 4-3-3
Defence:
David de Gea notched up an assist in Spain’s clash against Argentina, further enhancing his reputation as an all-round keeper. He will undoubtedly start between the bars for United. Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young will continue to guard the flanks if the Englishman is able to prove his fitness to the manager in time.
Eric Bailly has constantly shown his importance to this United backline as his confidence and astute defending skills are of extreme importance to an oft-vulnerable looking backline. He will be partnered by Chris Smalling who had a nice time off in the international break.
Midfield:
Jose would look to beef up the midfield as midfielder Marouane Fellaini is fit to feature on the field. He will be accompanied by Nemanja Matic at the centre of the park as the Serbian would look to break attacks and drive the team ahead with his composure on the ball. Paul Pogba would be playing from his favoured left-sided midfield position. The Frenchman had an excellent game against Russia a couple of days ago and would be keen to replicate such form in the United shirt.
Attack:
Alexis Sanchez will be started from the left-wing after being left out in the FA Cup clash against Brighton. Sanchez has been self-critical of his form ever since joining United and maybe this international break would have provided him the perfect break to re-adjust himself and re-discover his lost form.
Juan Mata might start from the right-wing as the Spaniard had a good rest in the international break and adds a new dimension to attack with his creativity and ability to find pockets of space on the field. Romelu Lukaku has been in a tremendous form of late whilst also scoring a brace for Belgium in the last game. He has been finding the back of the net regularly and hence will be crucial for the team in the final few months of the season.
