How Manchester United could line up in the 2018/19 Season

Defence

AC Milan v Manchester United - International Champions Cup 2018 — Eric Bailly is the standout performer in defence for United

This has been the cause of concern for Manchester United in the preseason. They have been poor, and a lot has been written about defensive reinforcements, but the real picture, if statistics are to be considered, is quite different. Manchester United played 38 games and conceded only 28 goals, the second lowest in the league after Manchester City.

They also had 19 clean sheets, the most in the Premier League last season. In the Premier League alone, Manchester United had 564 tackles, with a tackle success rate of 65%. There were 481 interceptions and 853 clearances.

Only 4 errors led to goals in the whole season. Manchester City, the eventual champions, had 18 clean sheets and let in 27 goals. In the premier league, City had 563 tackles, with a tackle success rate of 68% and they had 346 interceptions and 588 clearances. Incidentally, they committed 6 errors which led to goals.

As such, even without the addition of further players, United should be fine. Lindelof had a stellar World Cup and should be building a formidable partnership with Bailly, who is one of the best defenders in the Premier League.

Valencia and Young will be the first choice in the wings initially, but Luke Shaw will eventually make the left-back position his own. Dalot might require a bit more time to take Valencia's place, but United's first choice defence in the 2018/19 season should be Valencia-Bailly-Lindelof-Shaw.

In case Mourinho wants to shift to a 3 man defence, which he most definitely will in big games and crucial away matches, Smalling might come in along with Lindelof and Bailly.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 20 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

Know More

Edited by Shambhu Ajith