Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Manchester United future has not been out of the headlines since Saturday's shambolic defeat to Leicester City.
But the beauty of football is there’s always another game around the corner and Solskjaer has a mouthwatering clash with Serie A's great entertainers Atalanta that gives him a chance to prove his critics wrong.
United’s midfield has been a huge area for concern as it hasn’t seemed to click, irrespective of which partnership has been selected. A change in formation might be the way to go.
In the latest MEN Facebook Live, United on my Mind writers Omar Garrick and Casey Evans looked ahead to the Atalanta game and suggested a tactical switch.
OG: “I don’t think we should be expecting an easy ride. Out of the five away fixtures, they’ve had this season, they’ve won three and drawn two, which shows how good they are away from home. They are set up in a way that’s not typical of how you’d think Serie A teams set up.”
CE: “It’s a hard game. Atalanta are a team that are very drilled and a system team. It’s a team that’s set up to exploit the problems United have, which is in a midfield that isn’t working and leaves way too much space.
“Atalanta have a couple of injuries, which is beneficial and having [Aaron] Wan-Bissaka back is a bonus, considering they like to play through the channels.
"United will probably go into this game like they always do - slow starting after 10 minutes, switch off even more and Atalanta will probably punish that.”
OG: “United need to respond and I do think they’ll be changes. United were cut open with the midfield of [Nemanja] Matic and [Paul] Pogba and it may seem they need to revert to a back three or five.
CE: “A back three will allow you to be more expansive with your centre-back play which helps [Victor] Lindelof and [Harry] Maguire. There’s a lot of strengths but I don’t see many changes coming from Solskjaer.
“One of the major issues I’ve seen from the manager is the midfield and when you get to around three different combinations in the middle that aren’t working, I don’t think it’s the personnel. It’s the tactic.
“I’d like to see a three at the back and maybe Pogba and [Scott] McTominay but Matic is looking good and it’s a bit worrying having to fall into him being the most reliable candidate for a pivot this season.
“It may not work to change the formation but at least it shows he’s identified the current system isn’t working. I’m interested to see what he goes with.”
OG: “It’s going to be intriguing to see because Atalanta play three at the back so will Solksjaer go toe-to-toe in that sense? It remains to be seen. The noise coming out is that he will revert to a back three/five.
“Some say that’s an admission by Solskjaer that he may be clinging on to his job. But I don’t agree with that, I think it’s more to do with the team not gelling. The midfield issue has created a bigger problem than most realise and it contributes massively to the number of goals United have conceded.”
What do you think United’s formation should be? Follow our United on my Mind team on Twitter and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below
