Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign as Manchester United caretaker Manager could not have started any better. Attacking football, players taking risks and goals galore. It is fair to say United looked a completely different team in South Wales last weekend.
There will surely be much harder tests to come, but it is worth reminding that the Red Devils massively struggled to beat the so-called lesser teams in the league this season.
Losses at Brighton and West Ham along with draws against Palace and Southampton are a further reminder that United could have easily dropped points at Cardiff had Jose Mourinho been in charge.
Manchester United’s most expensive signing Paul Pogba who had to sit out the last three matches on the bench due to his fractious relationship with Jose Mourinho was restored in the starting line-up during the weekend, and he was inspirational in asserting his authority in midfield.
The only negative from the win at Cardiff was that United failed to keep a clean sheet. David De Gea had won the Golden Glove last season due to his excellent goalkeeping and racking up the most number of clean sheets (18).
This season he has managed to keep just two shutouts in the league. That does not mean he has been at fault for most of the goals conceded, as he has proven consistently over the years he is probably United’s most important player. Solskjaer himself reiterated that De Gea is by far the best goalkeeper in the world. The Spaniard should not worried whatsoever for his place against the Terriers.
United under Jose Mourinho chopped and changed the back-line on almost every matchday. That has not helped De Gea either. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will need to maintain his back four for a considerable number of weeks before implementing any changes.
This could mean Diogo Dalot will have to wait for his next opportunity as Ashley Young and Luke Shaw seem to have the two full-back positions covered. That leaves club captain Antonio Valencia in a really precarious situation.
The only probable change is Fellaini for Matic, because Solskjaer will not want to disrupt the team’s fairly balanced attack in the final third.
Manchester United’s predicted XI: De Gea; Young, Jones, Lindelof, Shaw; Fellaini, Pogba, Herrera, Lingard, Rashford, Martial