Manchester United : How can they line up without Ibrahimovic?

Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been handed a three-match ban by the English FA for elbowing AFC Bournemouth player Tyrone Mings in the Premier League fixture between the two sides last weekend, United’s manager Jose Mourinho faces a tall task of replacing the Swede in the upcoming matches. These matches include an FA Cup quarter-final clash with league leaders Chelsea, followed by two Premier League matches against Middlesbrough and West Brom. Having failed to make most of the opportunity to cement a place in the top four last weekend, Manchester United have to keep the momentum going in the absence of their forward who has scored 26 goals. Therefore, it is essential for Jose Mourinho to get his formations right and the players rise upto the occasion in United’s next three important fixtures. Here’s a look at how Manchester United could line up without their talisman:

4-2-3-1( Rooney as the lone striker):

David De Gea

Antonio Valencia

Chris Smalling/ Phil Jones

Eric Bailly/ Marcos Rojo

Daley Blind/ Marcos Rojo/ Luke Shaw

Michael Carrick/ Ander Herrera/ Marouane Fellaini

Paul Pogba

Juan Mata

Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Anthony Martial

Wayne Rooney

Though Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney is the club’s all-time highest goalscorer, he hasn’t been the same prolific player he once was in the recent few years. But that doesn’t mean that he is not an option worth considering, as was shown by Mourinho in the match against Bournemouth, in which Rooney played strike partner to Ibrahimovic. Mourinho has left him out of the squad to face FC Rostov in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 tie on Thursday night, which could mean he is being preserved for the upcoming matches, to make up for Ibrahimovic’s absence. However, knowing Mourinho’s reputation, it’s unlikely that Rooney will be drafted into the lone striker role ahead of the likes of Rashford and Martial, especially in the match against Chelsea, since Rooney hasn’t scored against them in the last four years.

4-2-3-1(Martial as the lone striker):

De Gea

Valencia

Smalling/Jones

Bailly/Rojo

Blind/Rojo/Shaw

Carrick/Herrera/Fellaini

Pogba

Mata

Mkhitaryan/Rooney

Rashford/Mkhitaryan

Martial

Though bought by Louis van Gaal as a striker for £36 million last season, Anthony Martial is now the first-choice player to play on the left-wing for the Red Devils. He has struggled in the position few times, with rumours even doing the rounds that he was unhappy with the number 9 shirt stripped off him. But on his day, he’s been unplayable and since quite a few games, has been in that kind of form. Martial has the pace to trouble the defenders if played upfront and his dribbling skills are the best at Manchester United. However, playing Martial as the lone striker could create problems for fitting the right player in the left side of the pitch. Hence, it’s less likely that Mourinho would upset the rhythm of other players instead of straightway replacing Ibrahimovic.

4-2-3-1(Rashford as the lone striker):

De Gea

Valencia

Smalling/Jones

Bailly/Rojo

Blind/Rojo/Shaw

Carrick/Herrera/Fellaini

Pogba

Mata

Mkhitaryan

Martial

Rashford

Mourinho has made it quite clear as to who his go-to man is, in the absence of Ibrahimovic. After bursting in to the first team in emphatic fashion under van Gaal, Marcus Rashford has played mostly on the left-wing, often coming on from the bench(and due to Ibrahimovic’s astonishing fitness) under Mourinho. But, it was Rashford who started the game as the lone striker, the last Ibrahimovic was suspended(in the game against Arsenal tic in November). Rashford is lightening quick and can wreak havoc in the opposition defence by staying upfront, unlike Ibrahimovic who has the tendency to drop deep in to the midfield. Also, the kind of creativity United can have in the midfield with this line up, with Mata, Mkhitaryan and Martial providing the requisite attacking threat, while Pogba and Herrera/Carrick control the tempo in the middle of the park, is devastating.

4-4-2 Martial and Rashford as strikers:

De Gea

Valencia

Smalling/Jones

Bailly/Rojo

Blind/Rojo/Shaw

Mata

Pogba

Carrick/Herrera/Fellaini

Mkhitaryan

Rashford

Martial

Though Mourinho is regarded a ‘dinosaur’ for his stubbornness to change his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, which is widely considered outdated by many in modern football, he has played with a 4-4-2 formation at Manchester United few times this season, most recently in the 1-1 draw against Bournemouth last weekend, when Rooney played alongside Ibrahimovic upfront. So, if Mourinho decides to go ahead with this formation, what better options does he have other than unleashing two of Manchester United’s most exciting players to tear apart defences in sync?