On Wednesday 8th December Manchester United host BSC Young Boys at Old Trafford in the final group stage match of the Champions League. With Manchester United already through and Young Boys not able to qualify, I think there are going to be a lot of changes on both sides.
Opposition
The Swiss team currently sit bottom of group F in the Champions League and have no way of qualifying. They come into this game with not the best of form. In their last 6 matches, they have only 1 win, 2 draws and 3 losses. They currently sit 4th in the Swiss Super League. So they won’t be coming into this game with masses of confidence.
As I said, I would expect David Wagner to potentially use this as an opportunity to try something different. I would still expect them to line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Faivre starting in net. And then a back four of Lefort, Lustenberger, Lauper and Hefti. As a midfield three I think we could see Aebischer, Pereira and Sierro. With a potential front three of Elia, Siebatcheu and Ngamaleu. Their main threat here being Siebatcheu who has 12 goals and 1 assist this season.
Manchester United
Whilst we are technically qualified from the group. I’d still like to see us go out and win this game, and build on the Crystal Palace game and try to get some momentum back in this team. And for that reason I don’t Rangnick is going to completely rotate every position. But I still think we are going to see some significant changes. Starting with Dean Henderson should make a return in net. This kind of fixture is surely the perfect opportunity for Henderson to try and get some games back under his belt.
I think Rangnick is going to stick with his 4-2-2-2 formation. As a back four I think we could see Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka as full-backs. Given that both have missed out in recent games this could be a chance for them to try and fight for their place in the starting eleven. At centre-back I think we could see Eric Bailly partner Harry Maguire. Bailly is someone that strikes me as potentially doing well under Rangnick with his aggressive style of play.
As the two sitting midfielders I think we could see Matic alongside Donny. This could be the ideal game to see how Donny fairs in that slightly deeper role in this new Rangnick system. I think Bruno and Lingard could start as the two wider creative players. And then a strike partnership of Mason Greenwood and Cristiano Ronaldo could be great. Again this could be a great game for Mason to try and get some more minutes under his belt and return to full match fitness.
I think this should be more than enough to try and see off Young Boys. Hopefully we can get another clean sheet and build on the good work of the Crystal Palace game. With that in mind I’m going for a 2-0 United win. Finish the group strong and get this season back on track.