FA Cup 2018-19: How Manchester United should line up against Reading

Midfield

Ander Herrera

Ole Gunnar came to the club with a clear mind of how he was going to line up his midfield. He has shown through his first four team selections that he likes a midfield three.

In three out of his four games, he has opted for Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba as his midfield trio.

There’s a feeling that he may opt to rest all the three midfielders against Reading, or at least two of them. And with Pogba giving them an injury scare against Newcastle, he is the first midfield player that we should expect to not see lining against Reading.

The other player that Ole Gunnar may opt to rest is Matic. Matic has been particularly impressive since Solsjkaer took over and has started all four games under the Norwegian.

If at all the manager opts to rest those two players, then Ander Herrera will likely start in the quarterback role. The Spaniard now finally looks like a rejuvenated player, playing to his strengths under Ole Gunnar.

The two players that will likely flank him are Fred and Andreas Pereira. This will give both players some game time and also they may want to show the manager that they deserve to start.

Pereira has shown his potential already and just needs some game time to get into his rhythm. Fred, on the other hand, hasn’t really become the player that Manchester United thought they were getting when they signed him. But he could get a boost to his confidence with some game time.