Back to back wins have, at least temporarily, cleared the gathering black cloud that was beginning to hang over Manchester United.
A 1-0 win at Burnley was followed up by a comfortable 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace – a display labelled Manchester United’s best performance of the season by Gary Neville.
While it would be remiss of Erik ten Hag or his players to look too far ahead given another defeat this weekend would have them back teetering on the edge, they now face a crucial five-game run before they take on Pep Guardiola‘s City in a Manchester derby.
The cup win showed green shoots of life that United now need to build on, with Sofyan Amrabat’s full debut giving plenty to ponder: Mason Mount thrived in a more advanced role, Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane made timely returns, and Hannibal Mejbri is staking a claim for more minutes.
In a run that features Crystal Palace, Galatasaray, Brentford, Sheffield United and FC Copenhagen, with only one of those away from Old Trafford, Mail Sport looks at four things Ten Hag and United need to iron out before going head to head with their fierce local rivals.
Manchester United face an enticing five-game through to their derby match against Man City
Form the Casemiro-Amrabat alliance
Amrabat showed plenty of quality on his full debut on Tuesday, when he was initially deployed in a left back role.
It wasn’t wholly unfamiliar. Both he and Ten Hag had had success with him in that role from his days at FC Utrecht.
But for United the key moving forward will be establishing Amrabat’s deep-lying midfield alliance with Casemiro.
Many of Manchester United’s problems in the early part of this season have stemmed from having a soft underbelly in midfield that has left Casemiro isolated and exposed.
In the opening two league games of the season it was Mason Mount alongside the Brazilian. That experiment failed. The England midfielder looks much more comfortable as a No 8, rather than as a No 6.
Establishing Sofyan Amrabat (left) and Casemiro (right) as a midfield alliance is essential
Christian Eriksen has had minutes alongside Casemiro, only to look troubled defensively in transition. Scott McTominay is another to have played there, at Burnley, but he too looked far from solid.
In the 15 minutes in the second half on Tuesday when Amrabat was deployed in central midfield, fans were given a brief flavour. Now they need more.
The amount of problems Manchester City will pose are endless with so many attacking talents at their disposal.
It is imperative that United establish Casemiro and Amrabat as a partnership across the next five games to ensure they are almost in sync when City head to Old Trafford.
‘Casemiro is a fantastic player, maybe one of the best midfielders in his position, so it’s nice to play next to him,’ Amrabat said. ‘But we have a lot of quality, a lot of good other midfielders.’
United do have plenty of midfield options – Bruno Fernandes and Hannibal Mejbri are other options in central areas along with Mount, Eriksen and McTominay – but nobody is suited to screening alongside Casemiro better than Amrabat.
The Moroccan can perfectly complement the Brazilian and make Man United harder to beat
Make sure Mount and Fernandes can co-exist
While his return only lasted for 45 minutes on Tuesday – a decision pre-agreed between player and manager – Mason Mount’s breakout game in a Manchester United shirt has been a massive positive.
The £60million summer signing had a hand in the first two goals and looked much more comfortable as one of two advanced No 8s in the 4-1-4-1 system that Ten Hag started with.
Mount struggled through the opening two matches in a deeper role before picking up an injury that sidelined him until Tuesday night.
Ten Hag now must find a formula that will allow Mount to co-exist with Fernandes.
In their last match on the pitch together – a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham – Mount was sat deeper while Fernandes played at No 10.
Both are technically excellent and not just because he is the captain, but Fernandes is absolutely crucial to United’s success with his goal and assist returns.
Therefore finding a way for both to co-exist and both find form heading through to the City game is crucially important.
Bruno Fernandes (left) and Mason Mount (right) need to find an effective formula to co-exist and still both be potent to opposition defences.
One option is to revert to a 4-2-3-1 system with Amrabat and Casemiro as the base two, with Mount at No 10 and Fernandes shifted to the right, where he played and scored from in the 1-0 win at Burnley.
Ten Hag likes the Portuguese playmaker on the right in big games as he trusts his defensive workrate more so than some of his other wide options.
The trick will be delivering a fluid three behind Rasmus Hojlund, with Marcus Rashford off the left, to frazzle opposition defences and allow Fernandes and Mount to pick up pockets of space that will open up from defensive confusion.
‘He’s really good on pressing, he has a lot of energy and he’s really good on the ball,’ Fernandes said of Mount in the summer.
‘He has goals and assists in him, too. He can create chances, so we are expecting a lot from him, but he’s aware of that.
‘He’s at a big club and he knows the expectations on him will be big.’
Both need putting in positions to thrive and that will be a key focus for Ten Hag and his coaching staff across the next five games.
Mount got 45 minutes on Tuesday night against Crystal Palace and he had a hand in two goals
Build up Hojlund’s confidence
This is not to say that the young Dane is lacking in confidence but an ideal scenario for Manchester United is for Hojlund to have a flurry of goals behind him heading into the big clash with City.
He is still waiting for his first Premier League goal after having his strike against Brighton chalked off by VAR.
In three Premier League games so far – two of those from the start – Hojlund has had just 55 touches and managed four shots, none of which were on target.
Against Burnley he had just three touches in the opposition’s box. By contrast, he managed four touches in his own.
Opta data shows four touches in the opposition box in his home debut against Brighton, although he did not complete 90 minutes.
So it’s critical that Hojlund gets the service he needs to get among the goals.
Rasmus Hojlund has struggled for service in his first three matches in the Premier League
Things should improve once Rashford’s form picks up and both Mount and Fernandes are working in tandem.
Here is a run of winnable matches from Manchester United’s point of view and fans saw how a goal for Anthony Martial in midweek lifted confidence in him. The same can go for Hojlund.
Yes, he scored in the Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich, but if Hojlund can get a return of three in the next five he heads into the City game with his confidence elevated.
There are no concerns given his age and his inexperience as Hojlund has shown already he knows the right areas to get into, it’s just a case of getting him going and the goals should follow.
Carefully manage Lisandro Martinez
A fit and in-form Lisandro Martinez is an absolute essential for the meeting with City – and on a wider point, for United’s season.
The fact Ten Hag went away to Bayern Munich with a squad that included five defenders and four goalkeepers spoke volumes. Defensively, United have been decimated by injury.
Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka remain longer term absentees, while both Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane made timely returns on Tuesday.
Martinez was given the night off against both Burnley and Crystal Palace and Ten Hag, perhaps wisely, is keen to allow the Argentine to rest up where possible amid some complaints in his foot.
The returns of Varane and Maguire, coupled with the impressive display from Jonny Evans at Burnley and the availability of Victor Lindelof, mean Ten Hag does not have to risk Martinez when he feels it’s not right.
Erik ten Hag is eager not to put undue stress on Lisandro Martinez as he manages a foot issue
Maguire has his critics but did well in the cup on Tuesday while Varane will bring that air of calmness that Evans delivered with such composure at Burnley.
Ten Hag would likely want to go into the City game with his tried and tested Varane-Martinez axis and so allowing the Argentine to find his groove in the next five games, while still remaining comfortable and free from any lingering pain, is key.
Andre Onana now has back-to-back clean sheets, Varane should slot in from the start, beginning this weekend, while Diogo Dalot and Sergio Reguilon are beginning to find a rhythm in the full-back roles.
Consistency is going to be the key and so in the next five games managing Martinez, while also having enough test runs with a back five of Onana, Dalot, Varane, Martinez and Reguilon, should be two of the priorities defensively.
