Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag must start Aaron Wan-Bissaka at left-back to nullify the threat of Liverpool star Mohamed Salah in the FA Cup quarter-final.
The Red Devils welcome their arch-rivals to Old Trafford for the FA Cup showdown on Sunday. Ahead of the game, Ten Hag has confirmed a triple injury boost for the club.
Rasmus Hojlund is back in the mix after a muscle injury. The Dane is widely expected to lead the attack, having scored eight goals from his previous eight games for United.
Meanwhile, Harry Maguire and Wan-Bissaka have also returned to full training ahead of the derby and the duo could also be involved from the off against Jurgen Klopp’s side.
In our view, Wan-Bissaka should be deployed at left-back to curb the attacking threat of Salah.
The Egypt international has had another fantastic campaign and he has already registered 20 goals and 13 assists from just 31 appearances in all competitions for the Reds.
He has been United’s main nemesis over the past seven years with 12 goals and four assists from 13 meetings and stopping him could improve their chances of winning.
Wan-Bissaka has already started at left-back once against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and we believe the manager should go with the same tactic on Sunday.
Salah’s main strength is the ability to cut inside from the right wing to shoot on goal. With Wan-Bissaka being right-foot dominant, he could nullify the Egyptian’s threat.
The 26-year-old is probably the best one-on-one defender in the league in our opinion. He should be tasked with man-marking Salah, who has been described as ‘exceptional‘ by Klopp.
There is another option of playing Diogo Dalot at left-back with Wan-Bissaka on the opposite end.
However, that would limit Dalot’s chances of making runs into the final third due to Salah’s presence.
While Wan-Bissaka possesses superb defensive qualities, he rarely makes overlapping runs or deliver crosses into the box. Hence, we prefer him at left-back on Sunday.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
