Manchester United are looking to bounce back from their disappointing defeat last Sunday when they welcome Nottingham Forest to Old Trafford on Saturday.
The Red Devils stumbled to a 1-0 win against Wolves on the opening day before a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham in north London. In contrast, Nottingham Forest showed character to bounce back from the opening weekend defeat to Arsenal, winning 2-1 against newly-promoted Sheffield United at home last week. They will be keen to stun Manchester United at Old Trafford and return home with all three points.
On that note, here are the key battles that could define the outcome of the game between Man United and Nottingham Forest at the weekend.
#Christian Eriksen vs Orel Mangala
Mason Mount will miss the upcoming Premier League matches against Nottingham Forest and Arsenal because of an injury sustained during a 2-0 defeat against Tottenham. The England midfielder, who joined from Chelsea in the summer, has started both of United’s Premier League games this season. And in Mount’s injury absence, Christian Eriksen is likely to get the nod to start alongside Casemiro in midfield against Forest.
Eriksen brought vision and balance to United and formed Erik ten Hag’s best midfield trio with Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro last season. Having come off the bench in the last two games, the Dane will get a chance to stake his claim for a first-team berth.
To stop Man United from controlling the tempo of the game, Forest will need to stop Eriksen from spraying balls left, right and centre. It will be a tough ask and Orel Mangala will have his work cut out in the middle of the park. Expected to start alongside Danilo in the Forest midfield, Mangala could be tasked to keep a close check on the United star and nullify his impact on the game.
All in all, it will be an interesting midfield battle between Eriksen and Mangala.
#Marcus Rashford vs Serge Aurier
With new signing Rasmus Hojlund injured, Erik ten Hag has gone with Marcus Rashford to lead the United attack. However, the England international has struggled playing through the middle as a No.9, registering just two shots on target across the opening two games.
This could prompt Ten Hag to tinker with his team selection against Forest and restore Rashford on the left—a position he prefers to play. Rashford has mostly enjoyed his best games in a United shirt operating off the left flank, and if Ten Hag uses him as a wide attacker there are chances of the 25-year-old getting back his form.
Keeping Rashford quiet in attack will not be easy as he’s agile, direct and can use his explosive pace to outrun defenders. Serge Aurier has started the new season very well as a right wing-back for Forest. The Ivorian rolled back the years with a fantastic playmaking display for Forest against Sheffield United last week, delivering two accurate crosses for Taiwo Awoniyi and Chris Wood to help the Tricky Trees get their first points of the season on board.
As a right wing-back, Aurier will have the responsibility to bomb up and down the flank throughout the game. However, chances of him getting joy down the right against United will be less, and he will need to be defensively excellent to keep Rashford at arm’s length from Forest’s goal.
#Taiwo Awoniyi vs Lisandro Martinez
It has been quite a start for Taiwo Awoniyi in a Forest shirt. He has scored in back-to-back games against Arsenal and Sheffield United, despite working his way back to full fitness from injury.
With his physicality, pace and aerial ability, Awoniyi caused problems for Sheffield United’s backline. Given the way he has started the season, the Nigerian is undoubtedly Steve Cooper’s most potent attacking outlet right now. So, keeping Awoniyi quiet will be a challenge for United’s defence which has looked very shaky in the opening two fixtures.
The onus will be on Lisandro Martinez, who has not had the best start at all to the new season. The Argentinean hasn’t looked his usual self in either of the two opening fixtures. The defender was substituted at half-time against Wolves, and then in the 2-0 defeat to Spurs, he looked erratic and scored an own goal.
As a result, Martinez will be under huge pressure heading into Saturday’s contest. How Martinez and his fellow United defenders deal with the threat of Awoniyi will be an interesting watch.
