Louis van Gaal takes his Manchester United side to his homeland to face last season's Eredivisie Champions PSV Eindhoven. Former Van Gaal player Phillip Cocu is now the manager of PSV.
The connections between the two clubs do not end there, of course. United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy enjoys similar status at PSV.
Memphis Depay, now plying his trade for the Red Devils, was last season's top scorer for the Dutch side.
His return to Eindhoven coincides with his new club's return to the Champions League proper. After a long season spent with their noses pressed up against the window of Europe's elite competition, United are now back in the big time and will look to build on their good result on Saturday against Liverpool.
PSV should come into this game full of confidence of the back of a 6-0 win over Cambuur. Cocu has recently changed their style of play, per Philip Schreurs for Cattenacio.nl (h/t Paul Backus of BeNeFoot.net for the translation).
Schreurs writes:
The change in style consists of a dominant high pressure game instead of a style based on quick transition play, coming mostly from their own half. One of the goals lying behind this change is the ambition to create one style of play that will be used throughout the whole club.
It will be interesting to see whether Cocu continues with that approach against United, given that teams have tended to enjoy more success against the Red Devils by defending deep and hitting on the break—something which has been Cocu's traditional style with PSV, per Schreurs.
Let's take a look at the likely line-ups and some of the key players involved in this one. For a PSV perspective, I spoke with Michiel Jongsma—one of the editors of BeNeFoot, and host of the BeNeFoot Eredivisie Podcast. We will hear from him throughout the following preview.
Date: Tuesday, 15 September
Time: 7.45 p.m. BST/14.45 p.m. ET
Venue: Philips Stadion, Eindhoven
TV Info: BT Sport 1 (UK only)/Fox Sports 1 (U.S. only)
Live Stream: BT Sport (UK only)/Fox Soccer 2 Go (U.S. only)
Form Lines
PSV: DWDWW
Manchester United: WWDWLW
Team News
PSV are still without two players affected by long-term injury, according to Manchester United's official website. Jetro Willems, the left-back who provided a remarkable 13 assists in last season's Eredivisie, per WhoScored.com, is still out, as is winger Florian Jozefzoon. Adam Maher is also a doubt, per Goal.com.
Willems will be a big miss, with Jongsma describing him as, "the best left-back in the country and arguably one of the biggest talents in Europe in his position." He went on to say Willems "played a crucial role in both providing cover for Memphis Depay and supplying Luuk de Jong with assists as well as holding his own defensively."
Jongsma explained that:
As a result [of Maher and Willems' injuries] two youth products will start. The right-footed Joshua Brenet will act as left-back, even though it is not his natural position. A right forward with pace can really exploit that, but it might suit him playing against [Juan] Mata, who he will not outwit but might outmuscle or outpace. Maher will be replaced by Jorrit Hendrix.
The 20 year old is a defensive midfielder rather than an attacking one, so the nuance of PSV will be slightly more defensive, with more license to go forward for [Andres] Guardado and [Davy] Propper.
Manchester United will once again be without the services of their skipper Wayne Rooney, per the club's website, who also say that Andreas Pereira is fit enough to have travelled with the squad.
Predicted Lineups
Jongsma believes the two youngsters will cover for the injuries, but otherwise there will be few surprises sprung by Cocu.
As for United, the key decision will be whether Marouane Fellaini keeps his place in the side ahead of Anthony Martial. Martial's stunning debut goal may have given Van Gaal pause. However, his impact off the bench late in the game could once again be crucial, and with this being an away game, erring on the side of caution may be Van Gaal's likely approach.
As ever, two of three of Michael Carrick and "the Schmidfield"—as Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin are collectively known by some United fans—will feature. Carrick and Schweinsteiger were both superb against Liverpool, and with Carrick rested for the end of that game, they should have enough in the tank to start for the second game in a row.
Elsewhere in the squad, were this any other game, then Ashley Young may start in favour of Memphis, having made an impact when he replaced the youngster at half-time against Liverpool. However, with this being Memphis' homecoming, it would be a cruel blow to his confidence for him to be left out here.
Players to Watch
Speaking about PSV's key players, Jongsma said, "Andres Guardado, their Mexican midfielder and the best player of said country will be among PSV's key players. He was voted Eredivisie player of the year by Algemeen Dagblad and Voetbal International. The left-footed 'Principito' (the little prince, as he is known) has been instrumental in adding balance to PSV.
"Another one is Luuk de Jong, who has revived himself at PSV. The striker is on 25 league goals since the start of last season, with a bonus of 10 assists in his 37 matches. What stands out is his aerial ability; he's already scored 12 goals from headers since he joined the club. De Jong is, however, comfortable with both feet and looks nothing like the striker English fans saw at Newcastle."
"The last player to mention is Maxime Lestienne. One of Belgium's most gifted talents, he took an odd career path, as he is now on loan from Al-Arabi. The left-footer is the successor to Memphis and probably has a better technique than the United man, although lacks his power, persistence and prolific goalscoring."
"Lestienne is a silky, creative winger who provides De Jong with good chances and also switches wings from time to time with Luciano Narsingh, adding a bit of variety. More detailed information on Lestienne can be found here."
For United, it will be intriguing to see how Memphis performs on his return to Eindhoven. He has struggled to make an impact since his star turn against Club Brugge at Old Trafford. A trip to old stomping grounds could be good for him.
All eyes will, of course, be on Martial should he get on the pitch. The chances of him repeating his impact against Liverpool may be limited, but nonetheless he has shown himself to be an exciting prospect.
Mata and Fellaini could both do with turning in a decent performance, after they both struggled against Liverpool.
Key Battle
De Jong's battle with United's defenders and Fellaini's battle with PSV's will be crucial.
The midfield battle, though, will be intriguing. Much will depend on what style Cocu opts for—the possession hungry, dominant style they are currently employing, or the more counter-attacking approach they relied upon last season.
If it is the former, it could be a game in which both teams cancel each other out. However, with United's midfield so capable of retaining and recycling possession, PSV would do well to seek to exploit United's lack of incision up front by looking to play a more reactive style.
Odds
The odds for the game, at the time of writing, per Odds Shark are:
PSV Win: 13/5
Draw: 13/5
Manchester United Win: 31/25
All quotations obtained firsthand except where otherwise stated.
via http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2566510-psv-vs-manchester-united-team-news-predicted-lineups-live-stream-tv-info
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