DBasia.news – Manchester United will continue to maintain their momentum when they meet Aston Villa in Week 15 of the Premier League. The Red Devils have a pretty good record.
Although last season Man United failed to win against Villa with a record of 1 draw and 1 defeat, Man United should be unbeaten in 23 Premier League away games at Villa Park (15 wins and eight draws).
The public and Villa fans are also looking forward to Villa playing under the direction of the new coach from Spain, Unai Emery, who has also coached Arsenal before in the Premier League. This adds to the excitement ahead of the game later.
Another interesting note is Man United’s attacking midfielder, Bruno Fernandes, who is absent due to card accumulation. Fernandes missed one match and that match came against Villa in the Premier League match.
The absence of the 28-year-old player is greatly felt considering he is a regular Man United player, especially in organizing attacks. Fernandes has played 18 matches in all competitions, scoring 2 goals and providing 2 assists in 1,546 minutes.
“Yes, until now, Bruno is important for us. In every game, he plays well,” said Man United coach Erik ten Hag.
“As a number 10 player he played a great game and we had to replace him, that’s the squad. Therefore, you need a squad, it’s not about 11 players, you need a squad to win in a season and now we have to replace him and we will do it.”
It will be interesting to see which player Ten Hag will choose to replace Fernandes. Assuming a 4-2-3-1 tactic, judging by the references from the Mirror, there are several candidates or alternatives for Fernandes.
The five players are Christian Eriksen, Donny van de Beek, Marcus Rashford, Fred and Scott McTominay. Among the five alternatives, the most logical option that Ten Hag has the opportunity to use is Eriksen.
The Danish national team player plays as a midfielder and it is his role to organize attacks. At Man United, Ten Hag placed Eriksen deeper in midfield to set up an attack in the middle, while Fernandes was in charge of more offensive work.
Man United will have no problem advancing Eriksen to Fernandes’ position, as the position he left could be filled by Fred or McTominay as Casemiro’s sidekick. Eriksen also has a vision of playing like Fernandes.
Another option is Fred, Van de Beek, and McTominay who also play as midfielders, with different characters or playing types. As for Rashford, who is actually a striker, if played in that position, then there are indications that Ten Hag wants to improve his offensive side.
In essence, Ten Hag has many options to replace Fernandes with a different playing character, depending on the needs that the Dutch coach wants.