Another game. Another chance to be disappointed by Manchester United. This Saturday Old Trafford plays host to relegation threatened Norwich City. As these games go on and we continue to see Rangnick’s team drop points, there is less and less meaning attached to each fixture. Any hope of a top four finish went weeks ago and a lot of fans, myself included are feeling done with a lot of these players. With that in mind here is a look at what we could expect to see this weekend.
Opposition
Norwich are technically the worst team in the league. Five wins, six draws, and twenty losses this season gives them a total of 21 points right at the bottom of the league. That being said I wouldn’t be surprised if they managed to get something against this weak United side. On paper their form isn’t a far cry from United’s. In their last six games they have managed one win, one draw and four losses. Meanwhile, the Red Devils have one win, two draws and three losses in their last six. That really is a sad state of affairs. That our recent form is comparable to that of bottom of the league, destined for relegation, Norwich City.
Dean Smith could name an unchanged lineup from that which saw them achieve a 2-0 victory over fellow relegation threatened side Burnley. The Canaries will most likely lineup in a 4-2-3-1 starting with Tim Krul in net. A centre-back partnership of Grant Hanley and Ben Gibson. With Brandon Williams not eligible to play against his parent club, we could see Dimitris Giannoulis at left-back. With Sam Byram starting at right-back and the potential to bring Max Aarons off the bench. In the midfield I would expect to see Kenny McLean alongside Mathias Normann. Moving forward, it will most likely be Milot Rashica on the left and Kieran Dowell on the right. With Pierre Lees-Melou as the number 10 behind Teemu Pukki up front.
Manchester United
As we all know this season is near enough over. In terms of games that is, in terms of things left to fight for, it was over a long time ago. Rangnick’s side currently sit in 7th, 6 points behind Tottenham who are in fourth. Let’s be real, a win here isn’t going to make a whole lot of difference in the grand scheme of things. And to be honest, I couldn’t care less what form of Europa League we end up in next season. At least if it was the dreaded Europa Conference League, we could give some youth prospects some genuine first team minutes and build their experience a bit. I think when ten Hag comes in next season, youth is going to be vital and that competition could be a solid way of building first team experience for the likes of James Garner, Ethan Laird or Hannibal Mejbri.
Line-up
With all that in mind here is how I expect Rangnick to lineup on the weekend. Starting in goal then it will inevitably be David de Gea. Whilst he has had some outstanding games this season and has saved us points, those question marks over his distribution and ability to command his area are creeping up again with the knowledge that ten Hag will most likely want a more progressive ball-playing goalkeeper. So we shall have to wait and see how that fares for de Gea in the future, but for now I have no doubt he will start in goal.
With Raphael Varane still seemingly injured, I expect to see Harry Maguire partnering Victor Lindelof. The absence of Luke Shaw means that we will see Alex Telles start at left-back. After a terrible performance against Everton last weekend from Aaron Wan-Bissaka I would not be surprised to see Diogo Dalot return at right-back.
The midfield seems slightly interesting. Both Fred and Scott McTominay appear to be injured and remain doubts for this Saturday. I would expect Nemanja Matic to drop into that deeper midfield role. Now I would like to see someone like Hannibal Mejbri given the chance to start. But the reality is that we will probably see Paul Pogba. The problem is that Pogba has made it very clear he has no future here and doesn’t want to play for this club. But someone like Hannibal will be hungry and now would be the perfect chance to see what they’re about. Moving forward, we will see Bruno in the attacking midfield role. With Jadon Sancho on the right, we could see Anthony Elanga on the opposite flank. With Cristiano Ronaldo no doubt completing the attacking line.
Score Predictions
If we can’t beat this Norwich team that is really terrible. No disrespect to them, but they are bottom of the table for a reason. They are not a great team and should be very beatable. I don’t think we will keep a clean sheet, I honestly can’t remember the last time we did keep a clean sheet. Hopefully we can score some goals and put on a half decent performance that won’t leave everyone feeling so deflated after the final whistle blows. With that in mind I am going for a 3-1 United win. It would be great to see Sancho back on the score sheet, along with maybe Ronaldo and Bruno.