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Manchester United recovered from their Derby Day defeat to Manchester City two weeks ago with a narrow victory over Everton last weekend.
Although the 2-0 score line may not suggest it, Erik ten Hag’s team were rather lucky to collect all three points, with the Toffees having 23 shots and tallying up 1.61 xG.
This weekend, the Red Devils welcome another Merseyside club in the form of Liverpool in what is set to be a classic FA Cup clash.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at which players simply have to come into the starting lineup if United are to beat Jurgen Klopp’s side on Sunday.
Rasmus Hojlund has to return
Danish forward Rasmus Hojlund struggled to adapt to the Premier League initially after his £72m move from Italian side Atalanta, scoring zero goals in his first 14 league matches for the Red Devils.
However, the 21-year-old has been unstoppable since bagging his first league goal against Aston Villa on Boxing Day, neting in all of his last six Premier League matches, and winning the February Premier League Player of the Month award.
Hojlund’s influence on the team is irreplaceable, which has been on display in recent weeks due to the Dane’s injury, an eventuality that has seen him miss the last three matches.
Against the physicality and dominance of Virgil Van Dijk, Hojlund’s ability to be deadly in behind and to feet will make life much harder for the Liverpool centre-backs, unlike Marcus Rashford, who struggles with his back-to-goal.
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The international star has been on fire this season.
However, there is one player whose inclusion in the team could just prove to be even more important than the return of Hojlund.
Why Aaron Wan-Bissaka must start vs Liverpool
Just like United’s number 11, Aaron Wan-Bissaka returned to full training this week after missing 11 straight games due to injury, which is a huge boost to Ten Hag’s team.
The 26-year-old’s most recent game for the Red Devils was the 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in January, where he actually played in an unfamiliar left-back role.
Due to the injury of Luke Shaw, centre-back Victor Lindelof has been deployed at left back in recent weeks, which has clearly been a position to target by opponents, and the Swede must be replaced by the “unbelievable” Wan-Bissaka, as per football creator Liam Canning, with the challenge of stopping Mohammed Salah up next.
Diogo Dalot would likely switch to left-back if the former Crystal Palace star returns, with the Portuguese star capable of playing in either full-back role to a similar standard, and the last time the duo started as a full-back pairing was against Spurs two months ago.
Dalot & Wan-Bissaka vs Spurs |
||
---|---|---|
Stats |
Dalot |
Wan-Bissaka |
Clearances |
4 |
5 |
Interceptions |
1 |
5 |
Tackles |
6 |
2 |
Duels won |
9 |
5 |
Dribbled past |
0 |
1 |
Successful dribbles |
2/2 |
2/3 |
Stats via Sofascore |
As you can see, the two right-backs were solid defensively against Ange Postecoglou’s team while also showing confidence on the ball, as highlighted by their dribbling stats.
They were dribbled past once between them over the full game, while proving that they are great at winning the ball back via tackles, which will be vital against Salah and Luis Diaz at the weekend.
Overall, it’s quite clear that Wan-Bissaka and Hojlund make United a much better team when they’re playing, and they would certainly give Ten Hag more of a chance to beat their arch-rivals.