Throughout the season Louis Van Gaal has been just a defeat away from crisis and the Dutch manager suffered that damning loss against Tottenham over the weekend.
The 3-0 defeat vs. Spurs has broken the spirits of fans and players alike and it will be a tough ask for Van Gaal’s United to go and get a result against an in-form West Ham side, that too at Upton Park.
We saw what West Ham are capable of when they came back from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 against Arsenal before Laurent Koscielny’s equalizing goal. Van Gaal must be decisive and bold in his tactics, that is the only way he can expect to get a result at Upton Park.
On that note, we take a look at 4 things Louis Van Gaal needs to do for Manchester United to beat West Ham including the much needed switch in his full-back selection.
Drop Marcos Rojo and Matteo Darmian
The duo have been disappointing in recent weeks. While Darmian can be defended as he looks to try but Rojo is hardly bothered while defending. Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Antonio Valencia should start against West Ham if United want to get a positive result.
Play Rooney as the number 10 and Martial as striker
Van Gaal was thrashed for his dilussional tactics against Tottenham where he used Ashley Young as striker, Juan Mata from right wing and Jesse Lingard in the number 10 role. With FA Cup semifinal spot hanging in the balance, he cannot make the same mistake.
Van Gaal needs to be decisive in his team selections which should ideally see Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard get dropped and Wayne Rooney start from the number 10 role. Anthony Martial is a striker and he should be played in that role only.
It is about time, Van Gaal plays players in their natural positions if he wants to get the best result for Manchester United.
Play Fosu-Mensah in central defense
Manchester United are about to go against an in-form beast named Andy Carroll. Daley Blind has performed admirably this season in defense, but Carroll’s aerial threat will be hard to deal for the Dutch defender.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah has proved his physicality even at the age of 18 and he can deal with Carroll’s headers better than Blind.
Trust in Memphis Depay
After an impressive run of games, Memphis Depay has suddenly been left out of the squad altogether by Louis Van Gaal. At present, none of United’s wide players are playing well thus it would do no harm if Memphis gets a start tonight which may turn out to be a master stroke from Van Gaal.
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