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Manchester United yet again find themselves sacking a manager after bringing an abrupt end to the two and half year reign of Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho on the aftermath of the defeat against Liverpool. The sack was always on the cards for the former Real Madrid managers after rumors of players being unhappy with the manager and numerous poor results.
With club legend, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer being named the interim manager till the end of the season with another club legend Mike Phelan coming back to join as his assistant along with Micahel Carrick and Kieran Mckenna as Manchester United once again looks to start from zero as they embark on a journey to repair the damage caused by the Mourinho reign.
Although the previous Premier League tenure lasted just nine months with Cardiff City, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to bring back the attacking minded football and revitalize the morale of the players.
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Here is a look a three possible ways Manchester United is expected to line-up under the Norwegian.
#1 4-2-3-1
The most preferred formation for the Norwegian, Solskjaer is likely to employ a formation which has been tried and successfully implemented. The former United striker employed the 4-2-3-1 formation during his two stints with Molde as well as during his short Premier League stint with Cardiff City.
The Norwegian is a huge admirer of Paul Pogba and has managed the Frenchman during his time with the Manchester United reserves. The midfielder is likely to be the heartbeat of the side with the Norweign sure to set up the team around the powerful Frenchman.
David De Gea is another player who will be starting for the new interim manager with the Spaniard once again keeping the goal for the Red Devils. Being part of the Red Devils during the reign of Alex Ferguson and the presence of Mike Phelan in his coaching staff Solskjaer is expected to go with a solid defensive pairing rather than defenders who are prone to make game-changing errors.
Bailly, the best defender in the United fold, is expected to partner the much improved Victor Lindelof in the heart of the defense with Jones, Rojo and Smalling providing cover for them.
The attacking-minded style and the boss preference for fullbacks who get forward are likely to be good news for the improved Luke Shaw and the reliable Ashley Young. Luke Shaw is expected to feature as left back with Young and Rojo providing cover while Young is expected to feature at right in place of the out of sorts Valencia and young Dalot who are likely to give cover for the Englishman.
Ander Herrera is expected to come in place of the slower Nemanja Matic to partner Paul Pogba in the base of the midfield. The trio of Martial, Mata and Rashford are likely to feature behind Lukaku to form the attacking threat for United. In much more adventurous formation Sanchez could feature in place of Mata to provide a rather devastating line up of Martial, Sanchez, Rashford and Lukaku.
Rashford and Sanchez are likely to be used as alternatives for Lukaku depending on the situation while Jesse Lingard is likely to provide much-needed cover for Juan Mata. The young Andreas Pereira is likely to feature much more under the new interim manager with Norweign likeness towards the youth.
#2 4-1-4-1
During his second stint with Molde, Solskjaer started experimenting with his formations and started employing the 4-1-4-1 formation during the rear end of the last Norwegian's season. The former striker may be prompted to employ the formation once again if his favored 4-2-3-1 doesn't work out as he hopes to. Once again the team is going to be set around the World Cup winner Paul Pogba, with the Frenchman pulling the string in the midfield.
In goal, there is only one player that is sure to start and it is the Spaniard David De Gea. The heart of the defensive line-up is likely to be filled by the Ivorian Eric Bailly and the Swedish Victor Lindelof, arguably the best individual defenders in the team. Rojo, Smalling and Jones will all provide cover for the defenders. The full-back roles are likely to be occupied by the English pairing of Luke Shaw on the left and Ashley Young on the right.
Nemanja Matic is likely to start in this formation ahead of the likes of Herrera, Fred and Fellaini with the Serbian more defensive approach giving much-needed protection to the defensive line. Paul Pogba and Juan Mata are likely to occupy the center of the midfield for United with Fred, Andreas Pereira, Jesse Lingard and Ander Herrera likely to give cover for the duo.
The wings are likely to be occupied by the French-English pairing of Martial on the left and Rashford on the right. Sanchez is likely to provide cover for Martial while Andreas Pereira, who was employed on the right flank in Valencia, can provide cover for Rashford along with Mata.
Romelu Lukaku once again looks likely to lead the attack with Rashford and Sanchez providing cover for the big Belgian.
Solsjkaer may also be tempted to call upon the likes of Chong, Greenwood and other young United reserves who have been dominating the reserve league.
#3 4-3-3
With the arrival of Fred, Jose Mourinho was supposed to unlock Paul Pogba from his defensive shackles and take every game by the scruff of the neck while employing the 4-3-3 formation.
Now with Mourinho gone, Solskjaer has a chance to make it work for the Red Devils. One of the formations he employed with Molde, Solskjaer is likely to employ the midfield 3 that Mourinho employed to unlock the French World Cup winner.
The Spaniard David De Gea is the only real choice in the Manchester United goal. The Ivory Coast-Sweden pairing of Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof is likely to occupy the heart of the United defense with Marcus Rojo, Chris Smalling and Phill Jones all providing competitions to them.
The fullback roles are sure to be filled by the much improved Luke Shaw on the left and Mr reliable Ashley Young on the right. Ashley Young and Marcus Rojo can provide cover for Luke Shaw while club captain and out of form Antonio Valencia and the teenager Diogo Dalot can provide cover for the right-back position.
The midfield is sure to be filled by the trio of Paul Pogba, Fred and Nemanja Matic. Nemanja Matic is sure to provide the defensive stability to the much more attacking minded Fred and Paul Pogba. After all the rumors of a rift with Mourinho, Pogba should now finally shed his below-par performances and take each match by the scruff of the neck and show what the Manchester United faithful were looking for.
The attacking trio is likely to be occupied by Frenchman Anthony Martial, Englishman Marcus Rashford and the Belgian Romelu Lukaku. Alexis Sanchez can provide competition to the Frenchman on the left along with Rashford, who more adept at playing on the right than on the left.
Alexis Sanchez and Marcus Rashford again will provide stiff competition to Romelu Lukaku who has been hampered by poor performance this season. Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata are the other options in place of Marcus Rashford.
#4 4-4-2
One of the most historical and classical formations in the world of football. The 4-4-2 formation has provided Manchester United with numerous titles and winners medals with both the Champions League winning sides under Sir Alex Ferguson lining up in this formation during both the finals.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also knows quite a bit about how to employ this formation after being part of it during his time under the Gaffer and new assistant manager Mike Phelan.
The ever-present David De Gea will start in goal with Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof partnering up in the heart of the defence. The duo is arguably the best individual defenders in the United line-up but the partnering up is another entirely different problem that the Norwegian has to deal with it.
Luke Shaw and Ashley Young are sure starters on the left and right flanks of the defensive lineup. Both the Englishman is quite going forward and the veteran Ashley Young prowess on the dead ball is likely to make him a starter ahead of Dalot and Valencia.
The duo of Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba is likely to be fielded in the heart of the midfield with the Spaniard doing the dirty work and the Frenchman running the show for Manchester United. The stage is set for the Frenchman to express after being restricted by Jose Mourinho.
Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford would complete the midfield with the Frenchman on the left and Englishman on the right. An unlikely line-up could see Antonio Valencia being employed in his former position at the right wing after being made a fullback in the past couple of seasons.
With Valencia occupying the wing, Marcus Rashford is sure to be paired alongside Romelu Lukaku to lead the attack with Alexis Sanchez being another option. A call-up for the 17-year old Mason Greenwood is also likely to happen with the Norwegian's emphasis on youth promotion.
