Manchester United face Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday at Villa Park. United beat the same opponent on Monday in the FA Cup third round. In the FA cup win, Rangnick initially started with the 4-2-3-1 formation but later in the second half switched to the diamond formation. Rangnick in his post-match press conference mentioned that the switch to the diamond formation gave United more control, especially in the centre of the pitch. So we can expect, United to play in a similar fashion in their Premier League game as well.
Rangnick: “From the very moment when we changed to a diamond in the last 20 minutes, when Donny [van de Beek] came on, from then on we controlled the game.” #mulive [@samuelluckhurst]
— utdreport (@utdreport) January 10, 2022
Rangnick: “In the second half we were on the counter attack and we could have made more of those situations. We took the wrong decisions at times but when we changed to a diamond in midfield we had more control.” #mulive [bbc]
— utdreport (@utdreport) January 10, 2022
🗣 Rangnick: “Against their flexible midfield, at times it was difficult with their 10s behind our 6s, ahead of our central defenders. It’s not easy to defend that. It’s pretty challenging. After we changed to a diamond it got better.” [MUTV] https://t.co/sdVQ4RiDts
— UtdDistrict (@UtdDistrict) January 10, 2022
Man United predicted formation against Aston Villa
With the diamond formation, we can finally see Donny Van de Beek getting to start for Manchester United. Rangnick talked about getting more control in the middle of the pitch with Van de Beek on the pitch in his post-match press conference after the 1-0 win against Villa. The Dutchman is far more comfortable on the ball and is press-resistant compared to the likes of Fred and McTominay, so his addition in the centre of the pitch will certainly help United dominate possession.
So far, Rangnick has experimented with various formations like the 4-2-2-2, three at the back, 4-2-3-1 and the diamond formation. It’s clear that he needs more time to implement his ideas and tactics at United but with games coming up fast, getting results on the pitch also is important. There might be a time where Rangnick is forced to forget his philosophy of pressing hard and adapting his tactics to the current United squad who seem ill-equipped to execute the asks of their manager.
