Erik ten Hag's MUFC take on one of Portugal's all-time greats Porto in match 2 of the Europa League. This is one of his most must-win games he's ever had in his two years at the club.
While the manager's future is riding on the next two games, United in general need a victory and performance given Sunday's hiding to Spurs, drawing the first game of this competition 1-1 last week to FC Twente, and not winning any of the last three.
A result as well as performance are warranted.
Predicted Lineup
We do see ten Hag shuffle his pack during the cup games which included a defensive change against Twente as Maguire came in for De Ligt. Considering the must-win situation he finds himself in, I think Erik ten Hag will go with his strongest possible defence which includes his fellow Dutchman De Ligt.
In midfield, Mainoo was taken off injured at halftime against Spurs but despite the concerns has traveled with the squad for tonight. I doubt that the manager will want to risk him which is why I didn't select him in the the XI. I won't be surprised if he does start though.
I've instead opted for Ugarte and Eriksen to be the pivot with captain Bruno Fernandes ahead of them.
Ugarte didn't have the best of games on Sunday (not that anyone else did) and has indeed, not had the best of starts to his career at United. But we may need that robustness in midfield which is why I could also see Casemiro coming in somewhere. The Brazilian also has loads of experience in Europe which could come in handy as well.
Rashford will start on the left, Amad on the right and if he is fit enough to start, Rasmus Hojlund to make his first start of the season.
Tbh though, I'm not sure what the manager will do. This lineup is going to be very interesting considering all the factors going into this match but also because of what ex-coach Benni McCarthy said regarding players not working hard enough.
The South African picked out Fernandes and Dalot as two of the hardest working players whereas there were some who he said didn't perform at their full potential.
This makes me think that ten Hag will select those he knows he can trust which could explain why we saw players like Fernandes being picked a lot despite poor performances. Dalot, Maguire and the now departed Scott McTominay are others who seem to have the right attitude explaining why they were in the team more often than expected.
We're in for an interesting night.
United's Approach
I feel so odd to be saying this (again) but before ought else, we just need to show up!
Do that and I do believe we have a chances,
of not getting fucked up 🤣.
But seriously, the fact that we're all sitting here not knowing whether our Man Utd players will actually try is such a low. I feel so disappointed having to say this 😢.
If we do show up (if) then I do believe we have a chance. However, I'm not sure how ten Hag will approach this match.
There's a chance that he could try to shut up shop and go ultra defensive and just look to hit on the break with the speed of Rashford and Hojlund. This would make sense given his difficult predicament over his future and how winning could help keep him in a job and the fact that we dropped 2 points last week.
The Stadium of the Dragon can also be a cauldron of an atmosphere. These are the last places we want to be when finding ourselves in a spot of bother as we absolutely don't perform at these grounds.
On the other hand, can we play a negative style?
After seeing such a boring brand of football for so long that isn't a style associated with United, we want to see some more entertaining and front-foot stuff. We need to.
ten Hag has also been here long enough and has had enough of his signings to start to play in this way. We have seen signs of it during this season with the draw at Palace being the best example of it. That's the style we want.
But that could leave us a little vulnerable allowing Porto to get at us. This could cause us to lose which is an absolute no-no for many reasons.
I honestly don't know how he's going to approach this game. There are many different reasons for him to play in certain ways. His team selection could also give us an indication of his approach.
However he approaches this game, one thing we're in desperate need of is goals. This is something ten Hag has complained about even in his presser for this match saying that we need to "kill" opponents when it comes to taking our chances.
This is more reason for him to pick Hojlund imo because his goal conversion rate last season was pretty good. From Christmas onwards, the Dane had a conversion rate of 47.4%, 9 goals scored from 19 shots in the Premier League.
As United are creating more chances, we just need someone to finish them. A player with those numbers is needed up front as we've wasted countless good opportunities and is part of the reason as to why we find ourselves in the position we're in.
Porto
The Portuguese giants find themselves in a spot of bother as well, at least in Europe.
Porto lost their opening game away to Bodo/Glimt 3-2 which means that this game is as significant to them as it is to us.
Other than this blip in Europe, Porto have been pretty good this season. Their only other loss came to rivals Sporting Lisbon (2-0) meaning that they are 2nd in the Portuguese league, 3 points behind Sporting.
Unlike United as well, Porto have won their last three league games scoring 8 and conceding 1.
When looking at the Europe League though, they're in the same boat as us thanks to poor starts in match 1.
Porto are actually five places behind United in 25th with 0 points in the Europa League table. United in 20th and have just the 1 point. A must win for both indeed.
What the team from Portugal do have as an advantage is the Dragon Stadium. As I said, we know it has a reputation for being a hostile atmosphere at times. They will use this to try and help them get on top of us which is why we need to try and quieten them down in the opening minutes. An early goal will do nicely.
Nevertheless, tough grounds aren't our thing and Erik ten Hag's record on the road in general at United isn't the most encouraging. He didn't win any of his European games away last season in the Champions League and his overall league record on the road since coming to United is around a 50% win rate.
As we are also in a low state, Porto will look to exploit that. Should they grab an early goal and the crowd really get behind them, this could be a long night for United.
Prediction
Funnily enough though, I think we'll win 👍.
Perhaps I am being stupid or it's a bit of blind faith but for some reason, I feel we can get the job done one way or another.
I think a part of this has to do with the fact that whenever United and ten Hag have found themselves with their backs against the wall, they somehow manage to come through.
I also don't think Porto are that good (not like we're any better) but I do believe 2-1 in our favor will be the result.
What's your score prediction for Erik ten Hag's penultimate game as United manager? 👀
Background image of player: Rasmus Hojlund in Man Utd training | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)