(Picture: AFP)
SIR ALEX Ferguson and Arsene Wenger are set to renew their long-standing rivalry tomorrow morning (Singapore time) as Manchester United face Arsenal in the first-leg Champions League semi-final at Old Trafford.
The two managers have fought epic managerial battles since the Frenchman took charge of the London club in 1996, with sly jabs thrown in either direction from time to time.
And given the recent circumstances, it would be interesting to see how both managers will select their starting lineups.
For United, the spotlight will fall squarely on its front-line. United’s Wayne Rooney and company had to rely on the introduction of Carlos Tevez against Spurs to spark a stirring second-half comeback. The 4-2-4 formation – with Rooney, Tevez, Dimitar Berbatov and Cristiano Ronaldo – tore into the Lilywhites’ defence and put five past a hapless Heurelho Gomes, who had been outstanding in the first half.
United certainly need to score goals, given that they are again faced with the unfamiliar situation of playing at home in the first-leg, but Fergie will surely remember how Arsenal dominated the midfield in their 2-1 victory over the Red Devils earlier this season, and scheme to prevent a similar situation.
For Arsenal, changes are afoot, with Andrei Arshavin cup-tied and Robin van Persie and Eduardo doubtful due to injury. Wenger has been quoted as saying that he is considering moving Samir Nasri – the star of the Gunners’ 2-1 victory over United last November – to a central holding midfield position or the left flank to plug the gap left by Arshavin’s absence.
If you were Ferguson or Wenger, how would you select the players for your starting lineup, and what formation would you use?
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I think Park will need to play on the left hand side of midfield to help Patrice Evra defend against Theo Walcott. Carlos Tevez should start ahead of Berbatov because he is more hard working and is willing to track back and defend.Man U starting line up- Van der sar, Evra,Vidic,Ferdinand,Brown,Ronaldo,Carrick,Scholes,Park,Rooney,Tevez
Arsenal starting line up- Fabianski,Gibbs,Silvestre,Toure,Sagna,Nasri,Walcott,Fabregas,Song,Adebayor,Djourou
Comment by Awad Faruk Alkaff — April 29, 2009 @ 2:01 pm
United will need to outmuscle Arsenal, their biggest weakness is against physical teams like Stoke and Chelsea. With that in mind, he’ll go for this:
Van Der Sar
Rafael-Vidic-Ferdinand-Evra
Carrick-Anderson
Park-Rooney-Tevez-Ronaldo
Arsenal on the other need to bulk up the line up to avoid being shoved off the pitch.
Bringing in Diay and Song ought to work:
Almunia
Sagna-Song-Toure-Clichy
Denilson-Diaby
Walcott-Fabregas-Nasri
Adebayor
Comment by Dinesh Bora — April 29, 2009 @ 3:06 pm
Manchester United
Edwin van Der Sar
Rafael Vidic Ferdinand Evra
Ronaldo Carrick Anderson Giggs
Rooney Berbatov
This is a classic 4-4-2 for Manchester United.
Arsenal
Almunia
Sagna Song Toure Clichy
Walcott Fabregas Nasri Denilson
Fabregas
Adebayor
A 4-4-1-1 for Arsenal. The man to fill the left midfield is Denilson. Denilson to man-mark Ronaldo. I said Denilson to man-mark Ronaldo. Fabregas acts as a link between Adebayor and the 4 midfielders behind him.
Short and sweet.
Qyaerus-Syahrein, 27, Sengkang Punggol fan
Comment by Alex Hart — April 29, 2009 @ 4:13 pm
Manchester United (4-2-3-1):
GK: Edwin van der Sar
DR: John O’Shea
DC: Rio Ferdinand
DC: Nemanja Vidic
DL: Patrice Evra
MC: Michael Carrick
MC: Anderson
AMR: Cristiano Ronaldo
AML: Wayne Rooney
AMC: Ryan Giggs(C)
ST: Dimitar Berbatov
Arsenal (4-2-3-1):
GK: Manuel Almunia
DR: Bakary Sagna
DC: Kolo Toure
DC: Mikael Silvestre
DL: Kieran Gibbs
MC: Denilson
MC: Abou Diaby
AMR: Theo Walcott
AML: Samir Nasri
AMC: Cesc Fabregas(C)
ST: Emmanuel Adebayor
Reason why I chose them:
Man United:
Van Der Sar: No-brainer! His experience is vital.
O’Shea: Fergie said he wouldn’t want his side to concede an away goal, thus the more defensive Irishman could get the nod ahead of the more attacking Rafael.
Ferdinand: Rio’s pace is needed against Adebayor.
Vidic: The best defender around. Sure-in!
Evra: Despite looking shaky in recent weeks, he is still one of the best left-backs in the world.
Carrick: Gets the nod over Fletcher because of his better passing ability and all-round contribution.
Anderson: Will be tasked to do the dirty and busy jobs and make a nuisance of himself to neutralise Nasri & Cesc.
Ronaldo: How can I leave this guy out after his sensational goal in the last round and his brilliant display against Spurs?
Giggs: Rested at the weekend, he will be fresh and ready to go to show he is a worthy winner of the Player of the Year award.
Rooney: The guy for the big occasion.
Berbatov: His height will be useful against Toure and Silvestre.
Arsenal:
Almunia: Steadier than Fabianski
Sagna: Less eratic than Eboue
Toure: Without Gallas, Kolo is the best central defender for Arsenal.
Silvestre: He knows alot about United and could come back and haunt Fergie.
Gibbs: Replacement for injured Clichy but nonetheless useful.
Denilson: Allows Cesc to roam forward freely.
Diaby: Think Patrick Vieira, but with better skills.
Walcott: Could be the difference tonight. Evra hates playing against speedy wingers.
Nasri: Tormented United at the Emirates earlier in the season.
Fabregas: Scored two at the weekend to signal his comeback.
Adebayor: Scored a brilliant goal in the last round and would be looking to continue his fine goal-scoring record at Old Trafford.
Key Battles:
Ferdinand-Adebayor
Rio will have his hands full dealing with the Kanu-lookalike, while the latter will be looking for any loophole in the Rio-Vidic partnership.
Evra-Walcott
Evra’s weakness was exposed by Aaron Lennon at the weekend and a similar type of player in Walcott would surely have noted.
Anderson-Fabregas
The chubby Brazilian will be tasked to ensure the Spaniard will not have a single moment of peace.
Ronaldo-Gibbs
The talented but raw Englishman will not have a moment of peace against the tricky Portuguese. If the left-back falters, then Arsenal could be out of it before the return leg.
I chose Berbatov over Tevez because his height is crucial and he would have more to prove to United’s faithful after being branded as a flop. What’s more, he has been scoring more goals in Europe than Tevez. Putting all the three strikers in from the start is a very risky move as this is only the first leg and the last thing United want is to concede any away goal. Tevez could come in in the 2nd half if United need a goal and his energy could prove crucial against the tired Arsenal players as the game wears on.
Rooney will play on the left as he can help Evra deal with Walcott. He can cut in from the left and put in crosses for Berbatov and Ronaldo too.
Diaby gets the nod over Song because he is more skilful. Song can come in from the bench if Arsenal need to see the game out.
What United can exploit:
1) Balls over the top of Toure and Silvestre for the likes of Rooney and Ronaldo to chase as the central defenders are not the fastest.
2) Constantly switch between Ronaldo and Giggs on United’s right, Arsenal’s left to test Gibbs.
3) Put in quality crosses into the box during set-pieces for the likes of Rio, Vidic, Ronaldo, O’Shea, Berbatov to exploit Arsenal’s lack of height.
What Arsenal can exploit:
1) Ask Walcott to use his pace and skills to go past the shaky Evra.
2) Nasri, who had a great game against United earlier in the season, could be used on the left, United’s right to test O’Shea/Rafael’s defending skills.
3) Ask Adebayor to watch the video of Liverpool’s 4-1 win over United on how Torres single-handedly tormented Vidic.
Prediction: 0-0 or 1-0 to United.
Comment by Loh Shengli, 24, Man United — April 29, 2009 @ 4:39 pm
The midfild is where Sir Alex will put his emphasis on as the threat of Fabregas is the greatest. Stop him and you will win half the battle. I believed that Anderson will be asked to do a job on Fabregas. The threat of Theo Walcott on the lft wing is another. Patrice Evra will definitely need help from a winger, most probably Park J S. If that doesn’t work, Rooney will go to the left with Ronaldo on the right. The hustler in the centre will be Tevez as he will keep the Arsenal defenders busy.
The name of the game is not to allow Arsenal time and space to dwell on the ball.
Mr Elvin Woo P F
55 Civil Servant
Comment by Mr Elvin Woo P F — April 29, 2009 @ 7:33 pm
Man Utd:
GK: Van De Sar
DR: Brown
CB: Vidic
CB: Ferdinand
DL: Evra
MR; Giggs
MC: Carrick
MC: Scholes
ML: Rooney
FW: Berbatov
FW:Ronaldo
I believe there is no need to explain about the selection of Van De Sar, Vidic, Ferdinand and Evra. They are obvious choices for the game in the respective position. As for right back, I will prefer Wes Brown over the other choices. The defender has performed well in that role until he got injured. Coming back fresh from injury, he should be able to live up to the task.
Giggs has just received a confident boost in winning the PFA award. The Welsh wizard also had a longer period of rest after missing the last game. He also has the experience in dealing with big games and will know when to cover for Brown when the defender roams upfront. Arsenal has a strong mid field, and I would prefer the first choice pairing of Scholes and Carrick over Anderson. The Brazilian is a capable replacement but his performances lack consistency and usually fail to influence in big games. Rooney should be deployed on the left flank, and take up a free role. This is to neutralize the threat of Walcott. Evra tends to participate in United’s offence, thus the space behind will be easy for a speedy winger to exploit. Rooney should be able to provide adequate cover as compared to Ronaldo who seldom tracks back.
Ronaldo will lead the attack upfront, with Berbatov playing behind him. Arsenal has dominated the midfield in their last clash. Therefore, Berbatov should fall back to help out whenever necessary, while putting in killer passes for Ronaldo to take advantage of.
The Portuguese has shown that he is more than capable of delivering the goods from a forward position. His dribbling will be a constant threat to Arsenal’s backline.
Arsenal:
GK: Almunia
DR: Sagna
CB: Toure
CB: Song
DL: Clichy
MC: Denilson
MC: Diaby
AMR: Walcott
AML: Nasri
AMC: Fabregas
FW: Adebayor
Similarly for Arsenal, Almunia is a definite choice. With the injuries to the defenders, this will probably be their lineup for the backline.
Denilson and Diaby will provide cover for the midfield and make space for Fabregas to work his magic. Walcott will take up his usual position on the right flank. Nasri should take over the cup-tied Arshavin on the left side. Fabregas will obviously be the centre midfielder, linking up play and working the whole team.
Adebayor will lead the frontline alone, with the help of the attacking midfielders. Due to injuries to the usual strikers, Arsenal is basically boosting up the midfield and will look to attack from there.
Comment by Suen Chun Lung — April 29, 2009 @ 9:14 pm
Thanks very much for your blog. Will eb back!
Comment by Serviced Apartment Bangkok — May 5, 2009 @ 6:14 pm