Manchester United and Valencia will face off each other at Old Trafford tonight. Both teams are struggling in theie respective leagues currently. United recently lost their third Premier League match of the season against West Ham United. Valencia, on the other hand, have won only once in seven matches and are in the 14th spot in the La Liga. However, this match does have some relishing individual battles to look forward to. Here, I have listed three of them:
3: Michy Batshuayi vs Chris Smalling:
Michy Batshuayi hasn’t really impressed in his loan spell at Valencia so far. The Belgian has scored only once in seven appearances. However, it is notable that he has started only two matches of the seven appearances.
His primary strength is his movement and the ability to find spaces inside the box. He is quick and possesses decent footwork. Chris Smalling is United’s most reliable centre-back currently. However, Smalling tends to struggle against forwards who try to run behind the opposition’s backline regularly.
He isn’t quick and somewhat fails to judge the movements of these sorts of forwards. Batshuayi is one of that breed. He can drag the defenders out of their positions along with him and that accordingly creates space for the second striker.
Moreover, his finishing is usually quite dependable. Hence, Smalling needs to be wary of the threat caused by the diminutive Belgian.
- Romelu Lukaku vs Gabriel Paulista
Romelu Lukaku has been misfiring lately. The Belgian has failed to finish off easy chances and that has hampered United’s progress this season.
Moreover, Lukaku seems to be lacking composure in front of the goal. Since the initiation of the new season, he has been rusty and is missing the poacher’s instinct that allows the strikers to notch goals regularly.
Moreover, the former Everton man isn’t using his physical strengths to his advantage either. Thus, more mobile defenders quickly intercept and incoming delivery into the box. Gabriel Paulista could accordingly be tasked to mark Lukaku during the match.
Gabriel registered four tackles, two interceptions and three clearances in Valencia’s recent match against Real Sociedad. He could be expected to neutralize Lukaku’s threat if the Belgian fails to brush off the rustiness from his overall gameplay.
1: Paul Pogba vs Daniel Parejo
Paul Pogba has again been inconsistent since the start of this season. The Frenchman has been unable to deliver his best performances regularly and that has become a growing cause of concern for the management.
However, Pogba was extremely good in United’s previous Champions League encounter. He bossed the midfield against Young Boys, whilst scoring once and even assisted Anthony Martial’s goal. However, Valencia is a significantly stronger opponent than Young Boys. Daniel Parejo is Valencia’s dynamic number 10 who can dictate the midfield with his simple, effective pressing and passing acumen.
Parejo would adopt a more defensive role to contain United’s midfield movement. Pogba has a tendency of losing the ball at crucial junctures of the match.
Parejo had tackled thrice in Valencia’s match against Real Sociedad. He intercepted and cleared the ball twice and hence his diligence in recovering the possession could cause Pogba problems during the match. This could certainly be an interesting duel in the middle of the park.