Bournemouth host Manchester United on Monday night as they aim to repeat their Premier League title, but something other than results could be the talk of the town at Old Trafford.
Manchester United may be looking to use a different formation for the first time under manager Ruben Amorim. The Red Devils welcome Bournemouth to Old Trafford on Monday night, a week after defeating bottom-of-the-table Wolves 4-1.
For this game, as in the previous 56 games under Amorim, United lined up in their preferred formation, 3-4-2-1. Former players, fans and pundits have spent months urging the Portuguese to reduce his obsession with the shape and move towards a more traditional four-man defense in the English game.
However, this formation worked well during his time at Sporting Lisbon and Braga. But in a team meeting before the win against Wolves, Amorim effectively told his players that “change is coming”.
Sources have confirmed to The Athletic that a significant amount of training time has been spent playing in a 4-3-3 formation over the past week. If such changes occur, Bournemouth’s visit to Old Trafford will become a key point for Amorim’s government.
Monday’s game is also the first time United could be without three starters who are expected to play for their country in the African Cup of Nations. Nousser Mazraoui (Morocco), Amad (Ivory Coast) and Brian Mbeumo (Cameroon) have all received call-ups, but it is unclear how many, if any, of the trio will take part as the tournament begins later this week.
read more: Man United fans hit back after Ruben Amorim viciously punches three academy starsread more: Ruben Amorim hints at Manchester United formation change to save Koby Mainu
Mazraoui, Amad and Mbeumo have been United’s full right-wing squad in recent matches, and their absence has been a sore point for Amorim. Also in Friday’s pre-match press conference, the Red Devils manager hinted that disadvantaged Koby Mainu could be given more game time by playing three central midfielders instead of two.
“The problem is that we play with two players[in midfield]but you see Koby in a different way than I do,” Amorim explained. “Perhaps if we played three midfielders instead of just two, Coby would get more minutes. Imagine if this happened, someone in front would lose his position.”
The 40-year-old was then asked how the impending return from injury of Benjamin Sesco, who last time used Matheus Cunha as his striker, would influence his decision. “I think it’s not just Ben, it’s everyone,” Amorim said.
Will Ruben Amorim need to change his formation? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
“We have to adapt a little bit the way we play the game, and it’s a good opportunity to do that, because I can’t imagine playing the same without Amad, Brian and Nous (Mazraoui), but especially Amad and Brian, given their characteristics. It’s really difficult to get that.”
“They both have more or less the same characteristics and we’ve lost a few games to them, but it’s a good opportunity for us to try to play in a different way.”
That “other way” may be just around the corner.
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