Manchester United v AFC Bournemouth - Premier League
#5 Nemanja Matic
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Manchester United v AFC Bournemouth - Premier League
Nemanja Matic has been phenomenal of late and has flourished under Solskjaer's tactics to once again resemble the marauding midfielder who knocked the air out of his opponents at Chelsea a couple of seasons ago. He had been an ever present figure at the center of the United midfield under Mourinho, but his performances had been deteriorating with every passing game. The Serbian is an excellent midfield anchor; however, he needs movements ahead of him to dictate the proceedings. Once Solskjaer returned Manchester United to the free flowing football of the good ol' days, Matic found his footing again.
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The Serbian has the second most tackles in the team and the third most interceptions. His range of passing has been a welcome addition to the United weaponry under Solskjaer. Everything still goes through Matic at United, but it is what he does with the ball that has suddenly added a new dimension to the United attack. The Serbian still guards his defense, however, he is not static at the base of the midfield anymore. He does his work more in the opposition half and when he has the ball, he prefers to catch the runs through the channels ahead or spread the play. This has worked brilliantly for United so far.
Against Tottenham, Matic will be tasked with helping his defense cope with the opposition attackers. However, when he has the ball, Solskjaer will want his Serbian to unleash his attackers from the deep.
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Deepungsu Pandit
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.
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