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

Who do you want to see out wide against Liverpool?

  • Total voters
    174
Liverpool will press us and restrict space so we need a player who excels in tight spaces and has the technique to accept a pass under pressure.
It's Mata for me.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
He's more of a winger than Mata who, for all his neat and tidy ball retention and occasional nice touch, actually created very little against Spurs. Ball retention is usually one of Valencia's strengths. Add that to his superior defensive work and strength on the ball and you can certainly argue the case for playing him ahead of Mata in a tough away game.

I don't feel very strongly about this, though. Would be happy enough with either option.
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Ball retention for the sake of ball retention is a pointless skill for forwards in my opinion. Valencia is not able to keep the ball well and still make sharp and direct passes that create space and opportunities. I agree that his defensive contribuiton is very valuable though.

We could start with Valencia on the right back. Mata as #10, Young on the wing and Fellaini in a free role. Herrera and Carrick behind. As others have mentioned we can bring in Di Maria in the second half if needed.
 
This is incredibly tough and to be honest, I think we've got issues no matter who we start there.

Liverpool's strength lies with the pace on the wings be it from Sterling or their wing backs. Di Maria would be the best to match up with that, but his effort defensively has been lacking. That's why Young is a must start and I'm not sure I'd want Blind at left back again either.
 
Young has to start, he's been playing well.

And Mata had a really good game too. If he suddenly doesn't start after so long out, the writing really is on the wall for him.
 
Hostekule said:
Ball retention for the sake of ball retention is a pointless skill for forwards in my opinion. Valencia is not able to keep the ball well and still make sharp and direct passes that create space and opportunities. I agree that his defensive contribuiton is very valuable though.

We could start with Valencia on the right back. Mata as #10, Young on the wing and Fellaini in a free role. Herrera and Carrick behind. As others have mentioned we can bring in Di Maria in the second half if needed.
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Whenever he's played with Rafael that's been a big part of his game. Even when he's not beating players or getting crosses in himself his link up play with Rafael was very good. It's only when he's on the right wing ahead of someone like Jones or Smalling that we look completely toothless on that flank. The Valencia-Rafael combo is nicely balanced and has worked very well for us in the past. Just a shame we've seen so little of it in the last couple of years.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Whenever he's played with Rafael that's been a big part of his game. Even when he's not beating players or getting crosses in himself his link up play with Rafael was very good. It's only when he's on the right wing ahead of someone like Jones or Smalling that we look completely toothless on that flank. The Valencia-Rafael combo is nicely balanced and has worked very well for us in the past. Just a shame we've seen so little of it in the last couple of years.
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You're right, they have had a decent partnership in the past. I'm not sure Rafael will start though. I don't see him throwing Rafael in from the start against Liverpool. You'd think there is a big risk of him being over eager in such a game. Determined to prove himself, but with a lacking match rhythm, he could easily be too rash and get a yellow card early on.
 
Barring injury I would keep the same team that beat Spurs. No doubt AdM is a better player than either Mata or Young but he's clearly struggling lately and the Anfield crowd will be on his back from the first whistle. Could be that he has the game of his life but its too much of a gamble for me.

His reaction to the yellow for a very obvious dive in the Arsenal match (a game we were still very much in at that stage) would just make me question whether he's in the right frame of mind for a big game like this.

Basically if it aint broken, dont try fix it!
 
To play devils advocate, would it be too obvious if we fielded the same lineup against the dippers this weekend?

I reminisce on the days when Fergie would pull some absolutely unpredictable lineups for the big matches and it would almost be like throwing off our opponents preparation and gameplan. Like when he put Phil Neville in midfield to "do a job" on jose antonio reyes, or when he put the twins in midfield to stifle the gunners in the FA cup, or even the first couple of times he put Rooney and Park on the wings to accommodate Ronaldo upfront.

Might we see something similar from Van Gaal to give us that edge at a notoriously difficult ground?
 
hbgreg said:
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.
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For me Mata is more creative and suits our keep ball tactics more than him. Hes got a much better eye for a pass. Bring adm off the bench.
 
@DevilRed Surely putting the same team out twice in a row is about as unpredictable as it gets? I cant imagine putting Di Maria in for Young or Mata or anyone else is going to stun Anfield.

Of course Van Gaal could do something completely out of leftfield. But to be honest I think at this stage there is definitely more to be gained from enjoying a bit of continuity.
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
It's a hard one. Liverpool, like you said, are probably expected to have the majority of possession ...
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Can I ask why you are predicting this?
We may be weak in some areas, but the one area where we absolutely dominate (even when we lose), is possession.
Statistically, this season, we average 59.9% possession, while Liverpool (54.7%).
We have to get out of the mindset that we are underdogs all the time. We are managed by a World class manager, with very expensive players. I expect us to win the possession battle.

With regards who to play - I'd prefer to have a similar or identical line-up to the Tottenham game.
That was the best performance we saw all season, so why break up a great team?

I realise that Di Maria cost a lot of money, but his form has been weak for quite a while and his confidence is very low. We need to win the game, so we need to play our best team...not our most expensive team.
 
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Just play the same team, the best thing we could do right now is build a run based of the understanding of a consistent eleven.

I do think Di Maria has been harshly criticised but for me the champions league is too important to miss. We can look at the best way to fit him in next season and use him as a sub til then.
 
Gotta be more
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.
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Gotta be more positive than that bro...if you need good results...that line-up stinks of fear...
 
Mata played alright yesterday but for some reason I'd start with Di Maria.
 
I love Mata but Di Maria is always (potentially) more dangerous. It's a 50-50 for me. I wouldn't blame LVG for sticking Di Maria back in there.
 
Changing the lineup to include di Maria would be a lot of pressure on him. If we lose he will take a lot of blame and he's already struggling for confidence and form.

There's just a lot of possible negatives to changing a winning side, no need to risk it.
 
Inigo Montoya said:
Liverpool at home are far better than Spurs. We need a system to counter Coutinho and Sterling as well as stopping Henderson dictating the game. Never thought I'd say it but he has been quality for them recently
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Yes a i agree it's harder then Spurs, my point is about the confirdence the players got from the Spurs game which if we don't unsettle it we could carry it on against the dippers.

Agaist Arsenal I felt when LVG changed it at HT it unsettled us as we were playing pretty well in the first half.
 
We should start with the same team today. Di Maria has been shite and let his mates down badly last monday.
 
Di Maria in for Mata, although Mata did alright yesterday.
 
I think a lot of people in here are forgetting Di Maria's form recently. Doesn't matter how fast he is if he can't beat his man or deliver a pass.
 
Ekeke said:
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.
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Recently? Mata hasn't played recently. Started against Tottenham, was good. Started against Cambridge 6 weeks ago, was good. Played 36 minutes in the last 6 league games combined. 36 minuted on it's own is nothing to judge a player, never mind spread over many games.
 
Di Maria instead of Young. Di Maria is always a threat, no matter how he plays. He even gets into chances or assists when playing poorly. Same can't be said for Young. His top is hard work and being a threat with no end product.

Mata should pretty much always start when fit.
 
Play the same side and see how good they really are. If we're struggling. .. change it up. Why over think it before hand.
 
Play both if we can do so without being really weak defensively.

Otherwise, play the guy who is in better form and just helped us to our best performance in years. The only reason I'd play Di Maria over Mata in the next game is if our gameplan is totally dependent on his pace.
 
akash02 said:
How about we don't drop a player who's been better than both recently purely based on reputation?
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Tbh, as improved as Young has been this season,his best performances have come as wingback.

Since his move higher up the pitch I actually think his levels have dropped a bit. Yes he works hard, and is playing a lot better then he was over the last couple of years, but even a woefully out of form Di Maria is far more likely to create or score a goal for us.
 
Not that I think anyone deserves to be dropped but, if Mata does make way for ADM and we play with the same style, it an actually help against Liverpool. One it's away and we are going to have to probably play on the counter a bit more. All I know is Sunday can't come soon enough to see what happens.
 
If we drop Mata after what was, for me, easily his best and bravest performance for us since he came to the club, we'd be very foolish. Same with the other players who did well, you have to reward that with a start in the next game.
 
We just comfortably beat Spurs, an in-form rival for the top four. Now we have to play Liverpool, an in-form rival for the top four. I say we stick with the same team.

If we have to bring one of them off the bench, it makes way more sense for it to be Di Maria. Mata would be totally pointless as a substitute, whereas Di Maria is as likely to do something amazing in the last five minutes as he would be in the first.
 
MZX7 said:
Gotta be more

Gotta be more positive than that bro...if you need good results...that line-up stinks of fear...
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Not really. I've only changed one player from the Spurs game. Like I said, I put in Valencia because, as well as offering a counter threat, he will also get back and help Rafael.

How many times did Sir Alex change up the team to nullify the opposition, but at the same time make sure our team was a threat? Countless times. Welbeck against Madrid. Park against Arsenal/AC Milan, for example. I'm not saying we should be scared, but we shouldn't be naive either. Liverpool are in a good run of form and we have to respect that. That said, I don't think Van Gaal will change the team.

sunama said:
Can I ask why you are predicting this?
We may be weak in some areas, but the one area where we absolutely dominate (even when we lose), is possession.
Statistically, this season, we average 59.9% possession, while Liverpool (54.7%).
We have to get out of the mindset that we are underdogs all the time. We are managed by a World class manager, with very expensive players. I expect us to win the possession battle.

With regards who to play - I'd prefer to have a similar or identical line-up to the Tottenham game.
That was the best performance we saw all season, so why break up a great team?

I realise that Di Maria cost a lot of money, but his form has been weak for quite a while and his confidence is very low. We need to win the game, so we need to play our best team...not our most expensive team.
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Fair enough, in regards to the possession, but I was more thinking about because they were at home, and that maybe Van Gaal will play on the counter - similar to how we played against Arsenal. Also, having less possession doesn't mean I'm saying we're underdogs. I just feel we could really hurt Liverpool if we set up on the counter.
 
I think di Maria should sit this one out. We have pace with Young and Rooney, a target man in Fellani and depth touch and creativity in Mata. The balance is just right. I would use him as a super sub.... he will be fired up to put in a performance so he can prove himself.
 
​
A bit different, but.....

------DDG--------
Raf----Smalling-----Jones-----Blind
Valencia---Carrick---Herrera---Mata----Young
------------Rooney-----------​

I wouldn't mind some variation of this at Anfield. It's similar to what fergie used to play away in europe, it allows us to sit slightly deeper, offers pace down both wings and decent cover in the full back areas to counter Brentans 3-4-3 and with young and Valencias pace and Matas creativity it will allow us to hit with a fast paced counter attack.
 
Kag said:
Yeah, Di Maria. He can make a right cnut out of Sakho. My mind's made up.
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Emre Can is their weakest defender.

So we should stick to what we did against Spurs. Put Fellaini against him and hope Young has a run at him.

Sakho is dodgy in possession, but I don't think defensively he is bad.
 
Start Mata, Young needs to be in there. Subbing Mata on wouldn't inject much whereas Di Maria hopefully has the energy to breeze past the tired defence. I say don't change things up too much.
 
Mata should get preference over ADM. Not just because of Sunday but because ADM needs a lot of time to decide if he wants to stay with us. Mata is already committed, move on with Mata and give ADM extended leave. Blind as full back is a better than in midfield where his performances have dwindled. The rest stays the same.
 
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