Manchester United may witness an unprecedented midfield and offensive combination when they face Crystal Palace this weekend
Roy Hodgson’s team will return to the Theatre of Dreams for the second time in a week to face Erik ten Hag’s men in the Premier League.
They will be hoping for a better outcome than the prior time. With an outstanding effort, the Red Devils won the Carabao Cup 3-0.
Old Trafford, on the other hand, will most certainly witness an entirely different team, with a completely new-look midfield and attack.
Speaking on The Talk of the Devils’ most recent podcast, Carl Anka discussed his ideal team selection for the game against Palace, which would involve a completely new midfield and attack.
He suggested a midfield of Sofyan Amrabat partnering Casemiro, with Bruno Fernandes in the ten.
With his midfield chosen, he then went on to suggest that he would put Mason Mount in the right-wing position, over Facundo Pellistri.
This would mean a never-before-seen attack and midfield for United.
Would it work?
The midfield looks very balanced on paper. Amrabat was mightily impressive on his first full debut and looked like he could be competent anywhere on the pitch
A defensive-minded partnership of him and Casemiro would allow Bruno to thrive in the ten.
As for the attack, it would likely be Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund and then Anka’s pick – Mason Mount.
Mount on the wing is intriguing. This was by far and away his best position for Chelsea, so it’s well worth a go. He had a strong 45 minutes in midweek. Ten Hag certainly has a few interesting decisions to make.
In addition to Pellistri, one player who would feel hard done by is Hannibal, as would opening goalscorer in midweek, Alejandro Garnacho. All three are making real cases for themselves, and deserve game time.
It isn’t easy for the manager to keep everybody happy. And that’s without even taking into account the possibility of Antony, Amad, or even Jadon Sancho returning later down the line, if their various issues can be resolved.
But the manager will be keen to get Amrabat, Casemiro, Fernandes and Mount into the same starting line-up, he hasn’t had a chance up until now, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he goes this route at the weekend.