A season in which nothing has worked out for David Moyes and Manchester United, a victory over arch rivals Manchester City could be their saving grace. Both the sides have different ambitions this season, whereas City have their sights on the Premier League crown, United continue to chase an unlikely top four place.
Man City will enter the field as clear favorites for the match but the Citizens have suffered five defeats already this season and there is no reason why the Red Devils cannot subject them to their sixth. Here are five things Moyes and United must do to get a positive result:
1) Man mark Yaya Toure
Simply put if the Ivorian has a good game on Tuesday night, it will be impossible for Man United to get anything out of the match. It is difficult to believe that the former Barca man had been operating in a more defensive role last season. This season he has been given the license to roam which has paid dividends with the 30 year old managing 17 goals and five assists in 34 Premier League and Champions League appearances this season.
The Ivory Coast international continues to be a vital figure in the City lineup and in their last outing against Fulham, the tireless midfielder scored a wonderful hat-trick to send a stern message to their neighbors. It is imperative that Moyes assigns one of his players to keep track of Toure’s movements throughout the course of the match. Phil Jones is one player suited to this role, however given United’s defensive casualties the 22 year old might be required at the back. Thus summer signing Marouane Fellaini might be handed the herculean task of keeping the powerful midfielder at bay.
2) Play through Wayne Rooney
The heartbeat of Manchester United Wayne Rooney has been an integral figure of the team over the years, however this season his team needs him more than ever. In the absence of Robin Van Persie the former Everton man has led the line for the Red Devils a role he flourished in during United’s last outing against West Ham..jpg)
The 28 year old scored a sublime goal from halfway line which was followed by another wonderfully constructed goal in the second half as Man United beat the hammers 2-0 courtesy of a brace from Rooney. The England international was also very influential during United’s 3-0 win over Olympiakos and it can be easily said that Rooney will have to be at the top of his game for United to notch all three points.
3) Make a wise team selection
The Scottish international has been repeatedly criticized for making poor choices as far as team selection is concerned. The former Everton boss has also established a habit of rotating the squad more often than needed. After 24 games in the Premier League Moyes had made an incredible 83 changes to his starting line-up, which is 11 more than the second highest. Till that point the Red Devils had not fielded an unchanged side in the league, further to this Moyes had also fielded 13 different central midfield as well as seven different central defence pairings.
All this implies to the fact that perhaps Moyes himself in unsure of his strongest eleven, but needs to figure it out before the big match against United’s noisy neighbors. Playing a winning eleven effectively carries the winning mentality into the next match and even though Moyes is definitely expected to field a different central defence pairing with Rio Ferdinand set to return to the squad, it is imperative that Moyes does not make many changes to the side that produced an excellent performance against West Ham.
4) Crowd the midfield
David Moyes has persisted with a 4-4-2 this season, however on Tuesday night playing his preferred formation could be colossal for the Red Devils. It is important that Moyes comes out with a tactical plan if he is to get the better of his Chilean counterpart. Man United should learn a lesson or two from Wigan’s FA Cup win over the Citizens where Uwe Rosler’s tactical astuteness earned the Latics an unexpected win over the Etihad side.
Rosler effectively copied Roberto Martinez’s game plan of last year when Wigan defeated Man City in the FA Cup final. The German tactician fielded a 3-4-2-1 formation which allowed Wigan to limit the spaces in midfield areas. Yaya Toure was given special attention with both McEachran and James McArthur tracking the Ivorian’s every move. Even though City play with two wingers, both their wide men Samir Nasri and David Silva have a tendency to cut infield leaving the flanks exposed. Rosler effectively exploited this weakness of theirs and played attacking wing backs, another tactic which proved to be useful as James Perch got in behind Gael Clichy to grab Wigan’s second goal of the night.
Even though Moyes is unlikely to try an unorthodox 3-4-2-1 formation, it will definitely be useful for him and his side if he takes a leaf out of Martinez’s book.
5) Have a plan B
Moyes has so far played one dimensional football which has not reaped many benefits. Man United’s game plan this season has been to play through the wings and put a panicked cross into the box every now and then, a tactic which has been widely wasteful given a lack of world class wingers in the United squad.
However with the likes of Shinji Kagawa, Juan Mata and Adnan Januzaj in the squad, United are more than capable of playing with more fluidity, something which was evident in the match against West Ham where Kagawa, Mata and Rooney linked up smartly to terrorize the opposition.
Conclusion
It is important to realize that in a match as big as this, Man City will be equally motivated to down their arch rivals, apart from being a local derby the importance of this match also lies in the fact that a victory could take City closer to the top of the table. Thus only a flawless performance from Moyes’s men could allow them to avenge their defeat in the reverse leg at the Etihad.
