Martial sustained an injury at the closing stages of the 2-1 victory over Fulham last weekend. It was later found to be a muscle tear.
Follow Us
Manchester United received a major setback ahead of the all-important FA Cup final against Manchester City on Saturday. Their main striker Anthony Martial has been ruled out of the showpiece contest at the Wembley Stadium. He sustained an injury at the closing stages of the 2-1 victory over Fulham last weekend. It was later found to be a muscle tear. This latest development means the 27-year-old French striker will play no part on Saturday. Let us look at how Erik ten Hag can replace him in the Starting XI.
The direct obvious replacement would be to move Marcus Rashford down the middle. The English international has been in fine form this season after reaching 30 goals in all competitions. Rashford might not be in good goalscoring touch in recent weeks but that is largely down to his unexpected injuries. Either way, he is the most logical choice to play up top, while promising young winger Alejandro Garnacho could start on the left and Jadon Sancho might take up the role on the right wing. With a lot of pace and versatility among these three players, they could cause several problems for Manchester City defence.
When facing a team like Manchester City, the opponents must be prepared to do plenty of defensive work. Pep Guardiola’s side are capable of suffocating the opposing teams by keeping a lot of the ball. With plenty of defending being the agenda on the cards for the Old Trafford outfit, Erik ten Hag might go with an extra midfielder to counter City’s threat in the middle of the park. As a result, Bruno Fernandes could move to an inverted right wide midfield role, something which he has done multiple times already for ten Hag this season. This could allow the manager to start someone like Fred alongside Casemiro for better defensive stability.
As an alternative, Erik ten Hag could play Wout Weghorst up front, with Rashford on the left and Sancho on the right. This is also something the Red Devils are used to playing for many times in the second half of the season. Weghorst has often been tasked to drop deep to receive the ball, thereby allowing Rashford to cut inside and run behind the Dutch striker. Besides, Weghorst’s immense work rate can help Man United stop City playing freely from the back. This approach has worked on occasions but has also backfired badly on other times. Hence, it will be interesting to see if Erik ten Hag will take this gamble in such an important cup final.
More Football Stories:
Champions League: What went wrong for Real Madrid in semi-final second leg?
Premier League: Which players have scored the most goals in a single season?
EPL stats: Which clubs have conceded the most last-minute winners in Premier League?
EPL stats: Which clubs have scored the most number of last-minute winners in Premier League?
Premier League: Who are the players with the most number of assists in EPL history?
