After two weeks off for an international break, Manchester United are back in action on Friday 4th February. The Fourth round of the FA Cup sees the Red Devils take on Middlesbrough at home. After a pretty quiet end to the January transfer window, and the Mason Greenwood situation looming large in everyone’s minds, hopefully this match can provide some respite from the negativity. There are a lot of things that I want to say about the Greenwood situation but won’t be addressing in order to respect the anonymity of those involved and to avoid prejudicing an ongoing investigation. It might seem sudden to go from talking of such serious events to predicting lineups and such. But that is what we are here for at the end of the day and as I outlined I won’t be addressing the situation any further.
With that in mind let’s get back to what we are all about; football matches. And let’s have a look at what we might expect from this fourth round FA Cup tie.
Opposition
Middlesbrough come into this game with a pretty strong run of form. In their last six matches, they have won five and lost one. They are currently sat in 6th place in the Championship. Just about hanging in on the last of those play-off positions is pretty good going for them. Of the last six times these two teams have faced off against each other, Manchester United have come off victorious on five occasions. With the one loss coming in 2015 in the League Cup with a Middlesbrough win on penalties.
Chris Wilder tends to set this team up in a 3-5-2 formation. Most likely starting with Joe Lumley in goal. And then a back three which will probably be made up of Dael Fry, Sol Bamba and former United academy graduate Paddy McNair. With Isaiah Jones and Neil Taylor as wing-backs. And a central midfield three of Riley McGree, Matt Crooks and Marcus Tavernier. With a strike partnership of Andraz Sporar and Folarin Balogun. This team will most likely look to hit United on the counter attack utilising the pace and creativity on players on the right-hand side. With their tendency to favour through-balls and long-balls United will have to look relatively solid in the midfield in order to avoid conceding too many chances.
Manchester United
A scrappy win over Aston Villa saw Manchester United progress past the third round of the FA Cup. The Red Devils look to go past Middlesbrough in this fourth round tie in what could be the best chance that Ralf Rangnick has at delivering some silverware to Old Trafford this season. With that in mind here is how I expect Manchester United to line up.
I expect Rangnick to stick with the 4-3-3 formation that we have seen utilised in more recent weeks. Despite trying to leave the club in the January transfer window, I think Dean Henderson will start in net. And then as a centre-back pairing I’m predicting Maguire and Varane. With Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka both expected to be back to full fitness, I would expect to see both of the given a game here. Especially for Shaw considering Alex Telles will not be back from international duty until late.
In midfield I think we could see Matic in the deep role. With Bruno Fernandes alongside as a number 8. And then we could see the return of Paul Pogba in this fixture as a way of easing him back from injury. The creativity of that midfield could be just what is needed to break down a tough Middlesbrough defence. And then on the left I think we are going to see Rangnick stick with Anthony Elanga. Jadon Sancho should return on the right hand side. And with Cavani returning late from international duty as well. And Ronaldo potentially being rested for the league games, we could see Marcus Rashford starting up top.
Score prediction
I am going into this game with a quiet confidence. Last time out against West Ham we managed to keep a clean sheet and I think United will do the same here. With that in mind I’m going for a 2-0 United win. With the main thing being that we progress to the next round and keep this chance at silverware alive.