Big Match Tactical View: Manchester United v Liverpool

FA Cup / Michael Cox / 08 January 2011 / 2

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Which side will Kenny Dalglish put out?

"We really don’t know what type of side Dalglish will send out for this match. He’s been out of management for nearly ten years – in that time football has changed considerably both technically and tactically, so second-guessing a strategy according to his previous decisions gets us nowhere."

With Kenny Dalglish taking charge of Liverpool for the first time, second-guessing tactics is near impossible, but Michael Cox makes a few predictions ahead of Manchester United and Liverpool's FA Cup third round tie

It's hard to know what influence a manager can have upon a side when appointed just over 24 hours before kick-off. Kenny Dalglish will have had minimal contact with the players before this game, and almost no time on the training ground to put into place any new structure in terms of formation or overall strategy.

We really don't know what type of side Dalglish will send out for this match. He's been out of management for nearly ten years - in that time football has changed considerably both technically and tactically, so second-guessing a strategy according to his previous decisions gets us nowhere. In being part of the Liverpool establishment under Roy Hodgson and therefore obviously not making any media comments that contradict his selection or tactics, Dalglish's choices are almost impossible to predict.

It makes sense for him to start by changing little for this match in terms of personnel, but giving the side a more attack-minded, positive slant. After all, there's little for him to lose here - if Liverpool are knocked out, Dalglish can hardly take the blame having been given no time before the match, and besides, his legendary status with Liverpool fans will give him some time to settle back into management. Liverpool may as well come out fighting with an attacking side rather than sit back and be submissive to United's attacking force, something which rarely worked under the previous manager.

In terms of personnel, Dirk Kuyt and Daniel Agger would both hope to be recalled under the new regime, having been left out of the 3-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers in midweek.

Sir Alex Ferguson was planning on resting players for this one - will Dalglish's appointment make him reconsider? As well as the previous squabbles between the two, there's the simple fact that Liverpool's players will probably be more fired up for this one than had Hodgson still been in charge, and Ferguson might decide more experience is needed here.

Ferguson is likely to use his 4-4-2 system rather than the 4-5-1 he favours in away games, despite the fact that Wayne Rooney is doubtful, and Federico Macheda has been loaned to Sampdoria for the rest of the season, meaning the Untied manager has relatively few attacking options. Michael Owen is in contention for the match against his former club, whilst Javier Hernandez will also be hoping for a start. The Mexican has a habit of scoring important goals - all but one of his strikes this season have been either openers or winners, and I fancy his sheer pace could cause Liverpool's backline problems. If he starts, I'll be backing him to be first goalscorer at around [7.0].

It will be a surprise if United do not dominate the game - they've been dodgy on their travels this season but at Old Trafford they've been excellent, only failing to win one game in the league, at home to West Brom. Their 3-2 win over Liverpool earlier this season was notable for Dimitar Berbatov's hattrick, and all three of his goals came following balls into the box from the wings. United's strategy was to get the ball to their wide players quickly and Liverpool weren't very good at defending against this tactic, so if United do the same here, backing them in Corners Match Bet at around [1.45] makes sense.
Recommended bets:
Javier Hernandez to score first at [7.0]
United in Corners Match Bet at [1.45]

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(2)

magnumopus | 08 January 2011

Perhaps Aurelio will cause some change in the match at left back as well as Cole, Babel and Jova up front. Johnson needs to have a good game at the back right and the middle 2 backs have to have no stupid mistakes like what has been happening the last few matches. Would be great to see Fernando get back his swagger by beating the 2 defenders who love to chip his heals and bang the back of his head all match. I hope King Kenny has a positive impact on the match... wouldn't the "red nosed one" be embarrassed to lose to a Liverpool in such disarray?
Mr.Akash | 08 January 2011

Play 3-4-3 attacking game