Manchester United are ready for their Champions League D-Day, as much as that sounds odd. It sounds odd, because not many people, fans or pundits feel that way about it – Man United will have to overturn a 2-0 loss at Old Trafford against PSG without numerous first-team players.
This match could be the last one in the Champions League this season for the Devils, but there is no urge about it that it would usually bring with itself. Simply said, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side is a big underdog going into the match at Parc des Princes.
Getting back into this tie could be a tough task in itself, let alone overturning it, but it is not the end until it is. These are the things we would like to see happen on Wednesday night.
Starting With A 3-5-2
Manchester United should start in a 3-5-2 formation. Considering how many important players are not in Paris and how many changes to the starting team there will be, Solskjaer should opt for a more measured, defensive minded 3-5-2 formation. Lindelof, Smalling and Bailly should all start to offer more cover, while Young and Shaw would be good options in both directions.
Also, this would allow United a decent presence in attack, with Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford getting the opportunity to do what they are best at – the Belgian to be move inwards from the right flank, Rashford to get in behind PSG’s defence with his pace.
Masking Midfield Issues
Another big thing amidst all the injury woes for Man United will be their ability to mask the problems they will definitely have in midfield. Even in the first match, it felt a bit too easy for PSG to stop the Devils through stopping Paul Pogba. The Frenchman was neutralized with a double-pivot in the centre of the park and with strict marking, United simply could not find other ways to become dangerous than to look at Pogba.
But now he will not play and that will create even more issues. Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera are missing the match as well and it feels like mission impossible for Solskjaer to find a solution which will prove good enough, Fred, McTominay and Andreas Pereira are the three players that could start and that tells a lot about the situation United are in right now.
Youngsters Getting A Chance
Everyone seems realistic about the slim chances United have of progressing, but then again, some youngsters could get a chance of playing against PSG in such a big match. Youngsters Williams, Gomes, Garner, Chong and Greenwood are all in the squad that has travelled to France and with all the other problems, it is not unrealistic to see some of them get minutes on the pitch.
Even if United were to go out, symbolically, it would be a real Man United thing to do – to introduce some new youngsters at the end of one campaign and give them reward before some new adventures next year. Man United currently have a more realistic goal to achieve, and that is to return to Champions League football next season. That would be a crucial platform for this team to keep growing.