Manchester United have suffered a late blow ahead of tonight’s game with Tottenham, with Anthony Martial out injured.
Sky Sports report Martial has suffered a muscle injury. Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had not mentioned it in his press conference early yesterday.
The inquest into how long he may be out and why he keeps getting injured can wait for another day, United have a game to win and need to figure out how to try and beat Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham without Martial.
Two options
Last night we published a look at whether United should switch to three at the back as we did against Liverpool.
This 3-4-1-2 formation involved Martial being left on the bench, due to his recent disappointing form. He has gone four Premier League games without a goal and suddenly did not look like a must start.
So if United were minded to go with this approach, Martial’s injury would not affect the starting XI.
Marcus Rashford and Dan James could lead the line. But that’s not the only option.
‘Unleash Greenwood’
The alternative is United continue with the 4-2-3-1 formation which has seen Martial lead the line with Dan James and Marcus Rashford on the wing.
Teenager Mason Greenwood could simply slot into Martial’s place and start up front.
This would be significant because it would be his first Premier League start. Greenwood has four goals this season including one in the league.
Solskjaer has cautiously held Greenwood back this season, keen not to rush his development, even though he has said he feels the youngster is the best finisher at Old Trafford.
Now it may be time for Solskjaer to throw caution to the wind, be a bit selfish, and start Greenwood in this big game.
Solskjaer needs a win badly, he is under a lot of pressure. If his plan was to go with a 4-2-3-1 with Martial, then he should stick with that and have faith in Greenwood.
This would be a very popular decision. With Martial ruled out, clamour from fans for Solskjaer to turn to Greenwood begun…
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