What should be Manchester United's strategy against Chelsea?

Super Sunday is upon us and emotions are running high: one of the most exciting matchdays awaits us, with both the Merseyside Derby and the explosive Chelsea vs Manchester United game ready to make a blockbuster footballing package.

The battle between the current table toppers and the second spot holders has turned into an extremely important match in recent times as the two teams have wrapped up all but one Premier League titles since the 2005-06 season. So with another round coming up, how should Manchester United approach the game ?

This season, Manchester United have really been struggling at the back and have gone behind in 8 of the 12 matches they have played; that they are second in the league table can be attributed to their top heavy lineup- out of the 8 games in which they have conceded first, they have come back to win 6 of them. We all know that this will not always be possible, but the comebacks are really keeping the confidence high and this is what makes the upcoming match such a cracker.

Both teams have failed to score just once this season and hence goals are one thing that will be a certainty in this match. So with United having conceded against much weaker opponents, they should prepare for the match assuming that they will concede and should focus on doing what they have been doing best – attacking and outscoring opponents.

Sir Alex has always been known to be satisfied with close 1-0 or 2-0 wins, but with his team lacking the once solid defence, he must take the attack to Chelsea; at the present moment, Chelsea are inspired by the amazing trio of Oscar, Hazard and Mata – with the latter in the form of his life – so United’s backline will be exploited and can be beaten for pace. Their best chance to attack is on the counter.

Chelsea have found it hard to cope against quick counter attacks, as their attacking full backs have been caught out of position quite a few times.

In this regard, United have a tactical advantage in their favour as they have much more flexibility in their line up than Chelsea. Sir Alex must surprise his opponents to get a mental advantage. With Lampard injured, one can be pretty sure of the line up that Chelsea will start with and it is necessary for United to find the flaws in their attacking style and implement their own plan.

Chelsea’s line up is expected to be as follows:

Chelsea are expected to start with a 4-2-3-1 formation, with a very flexible playmaking trio and United certainly know what to expect from the front four.

The interchanges between them have, at times, been top-class this season. But this system has certain drawbacks, in the form that the system doesn’t provide the necessary width at times and good anticipation from the opposition can lead to attacks breaking down and good counter-attacking options being freed up.

On the other hand, United can come up with a lot of formations that can work in their favour- the most notable being the new “diamond” formation. The Fergie 4-4-2 formation, the 4-4-1-1, or even the 4-3-3 formation would also work well. Although a wide diamond or the 4-3-3 formation is the one I believe they should go with.

It is very important for United to control the midfield and the 4-4-2 has ruthlessly exposed their midfield and defence. A 4-4-2 means that Scholes and Carrick start in midfield but their meager off-ball running means they will be destroyed by the super energetic Ramires when United lose the ball and quick breaks will leave the defence woefully exposed; so a 4-3-3 or the diamond will come in much more handy.The expected line up can be as follows:

United have preferred to go with three strikers so far, and with Welbeck also being comfortable on the wings, it has provided United with the much needed flexibility in attack as well as the presence of quality finishers in the final third. As seen against Stoke, Rooney and Van Persie will play deeper to act as creators for each other, though Rooney is expected to play as an attacking midfielder. Depending on how much belief Sir Alex puts into Rooney the midfielder, there can be a change in formation too, with Young or Nani replacing Cleverly so as to provide more width in attack.

Though Scholes has started all of the big games this season, he should be kept for the second half as his movement off the ball is a liability and his impact will be much more when the defenders tire off. The other highly unlikely scenario is that SAF goes with 4 strikers, with Rooney taking the place of Cleverley and Van Persie in the hole with Chicharito up front; this formation can allow easy transformation to a 4-2-4, but would probably only happen if United were required to throw the kitchen sink at Chelsea.

The other possible formation can be:

The 4-3-3 formation is one of the few formations that United should be able to pull off with good results. But they have not tried it enough.

In this case, I wanted to portray Rooney playing further up the pitch – which is what it would be if it was implemented, effectively turning it into 4-2-1-3 formation which provides width, creativity as well as solidity. Again, Scholes and Cleverley would have to fight out for the place.

One thing we can be sure of is that both teams will come out for a win and the fans will be treated to a cracker. An ultra-attacking Manchester United will surely be a handful for a defence lacking its talisman, but United’s defence being at its leaky best makes me go for a CHELSEA WIN, with the game involving more than 5 goals.