The Juan Mata v Di Maria Debate (Liverpool) | Poll added

Who do you want to see out wide against Liverpool?

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MyOnlySolskjaer

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Recently we've just witnessed one of our best performances in a long time in a 4-2-3-1 system against Spurs.

De Gea
Valencia Smalling Jones Blind
Herrera Carrick
Mata Fellaini Young
Rooney

Looking back at this team, it's a much more possession orientated side and also one of the most creative sides to field with Herrera and Carrick being the foundation of the team. It appears to be the best tactic to use when we want to bully a team and keep the ball and dismantle an opponent when we know we are the better team. The question is, is this the right strategy away at Anfield?

On the contrary we have:

De Gea
Valencia Smalling Jones Shaw
Herrera Carrick
Di Maria Fellaini Young
Rooney

As you can see you'd have two outlets on both flanks injected with pace, I've added Shaw instead of Blind as he'd be more more accustomed defensively in keeping a hold of Sterling although I believe going forward Blind would supply the better option. Furthermore, the key replacement was Di Maria for Mata, despite a solid performance from Mata today; would it be right to change the system once more to suit a more counter attacking team to lure them on the break by adding Di Maria?

Di Maria has been under a lot of criticism recently and although I thought he did excellent against Arsenal(with the exception of the red card) many fans seem to disagree and held him responsible for our defeat. I think he really can be an integral player for us but where the criticism lies is whether he is the right man for Louis Van Gaal's possession based ideology and arguably I feel we've been relying on him too much as a creative outlet. Away against Liverpool perhaps we'll need his speed on the break to steal a victory.

On the other hand we have Juan Mata, who came back in the side and was actually quite impressive with his workrate today, apparently Mata completed 18 passes in the final 3rd against Spurs. No other player on the pitch managed more which says alot about our forward thinking creativity which we've lacked in the recent weeks. Furthermore we've had our best performance and perhaps it would be wiser to have a bit more stability by keeping him in the lineup.

Alternatively we could drop Young, however, this would be the most controversial option as he's one of our most inform players at the moment and is consistently providing great deliveries and link up play, he absolutely destroyed Walker today and he will be needed to neutralise and double up on the Liverpool wingbacks in their 3-4-3

Alot of this depends on how we want to approach the game, I can't see us beating Liverpool for possession at Anfield but who knows...

Share your thoughts.
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Why not Di Maria instead of Young? Harsh on Young (like the OP stated) as he's generally done well so far but if you want a similar set up then it makes more sense to replace the direct and wide-ish Young with Di Maria (on the left) than Mata. We always have the option of bringing Young on for Di Maria.
 
It's a hard one. Liverpool, like you said, are probably expected to have the majority of possession so it could be wise to play on the counter. The only thing I worry about is Di Maria tracking back.

It probably wouldn't happen, but what about:

De Gea
Rafael - Smalling - Jones - Shaw
Herrera - Carrick
Valencia - Fellaini - Young
Rooney​

Yes, it'll mean going back to a Young/Valencia partnership and leaving, both Mata and Di Maria out (madness, I know) but we know Young and Valencia will track back well, whilst also being able to counter Liverpool.
 
Liverpool are one of the quickest teams in the league and they press hard, we will need to be clinical on the counter and Di Maria is much better suited to that than Mata, to me this is not a fixture that suits Mata at all, too much pressure on the ball and too much need for speed.
 
Devil may care said:
Liverpool are one of the quickest teams in the league and they press hard, we will need to be clinical on the counter and Di Maria is much better suited to that than Mata, to me this is not a fixture that suits Mata at all, too much pressure on the ball and too much need for speed.
Click to expand...

And Liverpool also are a quick counter attack team.

Di Maria has been giving the ball away for fun. I don't think Di Maria should start.
 
Joga Bonito said:
Why not Di Maria instead of Young? Harsh on Young (like the OP stated) as he's generally done well so far but if you want a similar set up then it makes more sense to replace the direct and wide-ish Young with Di Maria (on the left) than Mata. We always have the option of bringing Young on for Di Maria.
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Then we'd have two wide players that don't do a good enough job of tracking back and helping their fullback, which is essential against Liveropool's wingback system.

Walters_19_MuFc said:
It's a hard one. Liverpool, like you said, are probably expected to have the majority of possession so it could be wise to play on the counter. The only thing I worry about is Di Maria tracking back.

It probably wouldn't happen, but what about:

De Gea
Rafael - Smalling - Jones - Shaw
Herrera - Carrick
Valencia - Fellaini - Young
Rooney​

Yes, it'll mean going back to a Young/Valencia partnership and leaving, both Mata and Di Maria out (madness, I know) but we know Young and Valencia will track back well, whilst also being able to counter Liverpool.
Click to expand...

Not the prettiest but I actually think that would be a shrewd line-up as Liverpool's biggest threat is the wingback/inside forward link ups and two workhorse wingers will help combat it.
 
Bojan11 said:
And Liverpool also are a quick counter attack team.

Di Maria has been giving the ball away for fun. I don't think Di Maria should start.
Click to expand...

Walters actually just posted the smartest line-up, Di Maria is sloppy in possession and Mata is too slow to deal with their wingbacks. Valencia and Young are not an exciting choice but defensively they are the smart choice.
 
Valencia as a winger now? How about no?

I suspect we'll see the exact same lineup on Sunday as we had today.
 
Also, I don't buy that Young was great today. He's been solid this year, but he's certainly replaceable. If Di Maria comes in, it should be for him.
 
I'll go for Mata. Di Maria is prone to giving the ball away, and not tracking back. A lethal combination when up against a quick counter attacking team.
 
Drop Young. Simple.
 
Don't think Mata looked very happy playing out there on the wing. I think Di Maria offers more on the wing and he can really provide movements of pure magic. If we really wanna go out and put pressure on Arsenal/City/Chelsea we need him linking up with Rooney, Young and the big man. He's the most creative and dynamic individual on the team, hasn't had the best run of games but he is world class and we need him at his best to really be a consistently top side.
 
Devil may care said:
Then we'd have two wide players that don't do a good enough job of tracking back and helping their fullback, which is essential against Liveropool's wingback system.
Click to expand...

I think his lack of tracking issue has been overblown recently due to that Arsenal goal. He's generally put a shift in for us and done his fair share of tracking back but in recent games he did look a bit down which inevitably affected his work rate.

It's up to LVG to determine whether he's in the right frame of mind for this match. Perhaps a cameo off the bench might be more beneficial for United and Di Maria.
 
I'd either keep the exact same team and leave Di Maria on the bench or replace him with Mata. Young and Blind were great yesterday, and the majority of our good moves were coming from the ball being worked along that side. I wouldn't want to change that just to bring Di Maria in.
 
I think we'd need either someone who can hold up the ball or has the pace to counter, and as much as I like Mata, he doesn't offer either of those things. Not the right game for him unless we are brave and really want to impose our style on the game.
 
Joga Bonito said:
I think his lack of tracking issue has been overblown recently due to that Arsenal goal. He's generally put a shift in for us and done his fair share of tracking back but in recent games he did look a bit down which inevitably affected his work rate.

It's up to LVG to determine whether he's in the right frame of mind for this match. Perhaps a cameo off the bench might be more beneficial for United and Di Maria.
Click to expand...

Even if LvG decides Di Maria is mentally ready I think it would not be Young who is dropped, it's clear he's a favourite of LvG's and his pace and workrate will be important in a high intensity game like this.
 
dsch said:
I think we'd need either someone who can hold up the ball or has the pace to counter, and as much as I like Mata, he doesn't offer either of those things. Not the right game for him unless we are brave and really want to impose our style on the game.
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Which is what I'd love to see us do. I'd trot out the exact same lineup as today (even Valencia over Rafael, something I was whinging about prematch.) Di Maria can always be brought on as a sub if things aren't clicking, but today's performance was too beautiful to ignore, and leave either Mata or Young on the bench. As much as the negativity-fetishists on here love to point out how bad Spurs were, they are nevertheless one of the teams competing with us for a CL spot, much like Liverpool, and the players we fielded today gave them a good pimp-slapping.
 
jem said:
Which is what I'd love to see us do. I'd trot out the exact same lineup as today (even Valencia over Rafael, something I was whinging about prematch.) Di Maria can always be brought on as a sub if things aren't clicking, but today's performance was too beautiful to ignore, and leave either Mata or Young on the bench. As much as the negativity-fetishists on here love to point out how bad Spurs were, they are nevertheless one of the teams competing with us for a CL spot, much like Liverpool, and the players we fielded today gave them a good pimp-slapping.
Click to expand...

I just think that Spurs at home and Liverpool at Anfield are very different propositions. And it's not just a matter of putting ADM on if things aren't going well, since if we go with Mata, that would reflect an entire mentality and approach to the game throughout our entire preparation, which is not so easily changed. Still, I would love it if we went with the same team and pulled it off.

(Edit: Hello, Toronto. I used to live in Windsor, and a dozen of my friends went to TO for university.)
 
We struggle at Anfield at the best of times and, with Liverpool on a roll and in direct competition for top 4, this won't be any different. Mata had a good game today but he is not cut out for this type of fixture. Young has to start, as does Fellaini. Di Maria to start for his counter-attacking threat and then take it from there. But I don't see a place for Mata.
 
I think Young would play an important part. Happy not to see Valencia start. I'm inclined to want Mata, but theres always a chance for a moment of brilliance from Di Maria.
 
A tough one alright. I'd probably go for Di Maria harsh as that might be on Mata. Mata with struggle with Liverpool's pressing where as Di Maria might benefit from it with the spaces in behind.

Can't believe people are suggesting Young be dropped though:wenger:
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
It's a hard one. Liverpool, like you said, are probably expected to have the majority of possession so it could be wise to play on the counter. The only thing I worry about is Di Maria tracking back.

It probably wouldn't happen, but what about:

De Gea
Rafael - Smalling - Jones - Shaw
Herrera - Carrick
Valencia - Fellaini - Young
Rooney​

Yes, it'll mean going back to a Young/Valencia partnership and leaving, both Mata and Di Maria out (madness, I know) but we know Young and Valencia will track back well, whilst also being able to counter Liverpool.
Click to expand...

Why would you want Valencia that high up the pitch? He can't counter anymore. As soon as a player comes in front of him, he'll turn around.

I'd pick Mata over Di Maria. Doesn't deserve the drop.
 
We should start with the same team. Di Maria is not in any kind of form that deserves an automatic first team spot anyway.
 
@Barney How do you think Liverpool will line up in terms of formation and tactics? Do you think they'll press our defense with your front trio as we've been in trouble before against such set ups?
 
de Gea
Valencia-Smalling-Jones-Blind
Carrick-Herrera
di Maria- Mata-Young
Rooney

Or

de Gea
Valencia-Smalling-Jones-Rojo/Shaw
Blind-Carrick
Herrera
Mata-Young
Rooney​
 
I dont think Mata did a lot, Di Maria hasn't been in good form so there's even an argument that someone like Januzaj could have a shout. I don't think any of the 3 have done well enough recently for them to clearly be favoured over the other 2.
 
We could bring on Di Maria as a sub. I have a feeling his pace will be useful in the second half for a counter attack.
 
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Walters_19_MuFc said:
It's a hard one. Liverpool, like you said, are probably expected to have the majority of possession so it could be wise to play on the counter. The only thing I worry about is Di Maria tracking back.

It probably wouldn't happen, but what about:

De Gea
Rafael - Smalling - Jones - Shaw
Herrera - Carrick
Valencia - Fellaini - Young
Rooney​

Yes, it'll mean going back to a Young/Valencia partnership and leaving, both Mata and Di Maria out (madness, I know) but we know Young and Valencia will track back well, whilst also being able to counter Liverpool.
Click to expand...

This formation look great defensively,but might lack creativity up front.I like to add either of Mata/DiMaria in place of Valencia.
 
Our most convincing performance in two years, against a young quick talented Spurs side and people want to change the team.:wenger:
 
I'd start with Mata and bring Di Maria on...when there are relatively tired legs. His pace can be a vital outlet after the 65-70min mark.

I don't think we will be expansive in the first hour so Di Maria won't have too much space to run at, probably going to be crowded out. Mata can play the tight passes when on form.
 
I'd go with Mata personally. Liverpool always come out flying in the first half an hour, and we need players that aren't going to lose the ball as cheaply as Di Maria does. Mata will draw fouls, keep it simple and do a better job at tracking the wing backs. Tottenham tried to press us yesterday and our balls into Fellaini completely cut their midfield out and Liverpool will be exactly the same, and they'll be incredibly stretched with only 3 CBs. Unchanged side IMO.
 
If Blind plays LB, we'll need Young in front of him to track back and help him. Playing ADM there, who doesn't track back, will leave Blind isolated and we'd be fecked.
 
I would play Mata because he's missed so much football and it would be unfair to drop him. I think the team that started yesterday deserve to start again. Di Maria would get back into the team soon enough but having him as an option on the bench, would be some option to have.
 
I'd start the same team to be fair, not like anybody who's currently out 'deserves' a spot anyway, ADM can be a super-sub.
 
mumbai_red said:
I'd start with Mata and bring Di Maria on...when there are relatively tired legs. His pace can be a vital outlet after the 65-70min mark.

I don't think we will be expansive in the first hour so Di Maria won't have too much space to run at, probably going to be crowded out. Mata can play the tight passes when on form.
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Got to agree with this post. The only change I would like to see is Shaw back at LB if he's fit.
 
We shouldn't drop anyone after that performance. I'm sure LVG thinks the same way too. ADM is a great sub to bring in after 60 mins.
 
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