After Dorgu & Martinez injuries: Carrick desperately needs £30m Man Utd man to step up vs Aston Villa
Manchester United will take on Aston Villa at Old Trafford in a crucial Premier League showdown today.
United are expected to be without the services of Lisandro Martinez, Patrick Dorgu and Matthijs de Ligt due to injury setbacks.
The absence of Martinez and Dorgu will be particularly worrying for United head coach Michael Carrick, as it leaves the left flank lacking its usual unpredictability.
Luke Shaw is expected to start at left-back, with Matheus Cunha operating further forward on that side.
Cunha is not a conventional winger and prefers to drift inside from wide areas to influence play in central positions.
This leaves the onus on Shaw to make overlapping runs to stretch the defence.
The £30 million signing has remarkably started every league game this season, but repeatedly performing such demanding runs could push him dangerously close to another injury setback.
Despite occasional defensive lapses, Shaw has enjoyed a largely consistent and dependable season for United.
However, the clash with Villa may require him to elevate his performance even further.
United currently lack a natural left-footed outlet capable of creating new passing angles and stretching the opposition defence.
Martinez has often showcased superb progressive passing from the left centre-back role, and Shaw possesses similar ability if he is willing to take risks and support the attack.
Aside from Shaw, Bryan Mbeumo is the only other left-footed player likely to start against Villa.
Shaw must drive forward with intent, stretching Villa’s defence and delivering crosses into the box for Benjamin Sesko.
Villa have a weakness in midfield due to injuries to Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans.
Whenever United are circulating possession deep in their own half, Shaw should look to exploit this weakness by playing progressive passes forward rather than recycling the ball sideways.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
Article written by Sanidhya Bhardwaj .