Auba seems to continue his dip in form since signing his mega contract. It could be that he is not getting enough service but when he does, he does not put the ball in the back of the next and that’s what he is asked to do. If our main striker is not scoring, we are going to have struggle winning points…

I believe that at the moment our freshest and hungriest forward is Martinelli and I d start him in every game. I also think that ESR, especially, but the midfield in general play best when Laca is on the pitch so why not go for the following line-up up front:

Saka, ESR, Martinelli – Laca

If Arteta is not happy with Laca, then stick Balogun, Nketiah or Pepe in the mix but for me Saka, ESR and Martinelli should start at the moment if fit.

As for Odegaard, he has yet to convince me. His delivery on set-pieces is interesting but other players can deliver the ball as well like ESR, Saka, Pepe and Laca…

In the last few games, Lokonga has shown good promises and maybe it is time to also give more of a chance to AMN because he played well when called upon…so what if we, in the end, played:

Rams – Tomy, Ben, Gabs, Nuno (or Tierney) – Lokonga, AMN – Saka, ESR, Martinelli – Laca

Would that be a decent line up? Would that be our optimal line-up?

Partey still needs to show his best but our patience is also running out so why not give him a taste of the bench? Then on the bench you have: Leno – Chambers, Holding, Mari, Tierney (or Nuno) – Partey, El Neny – Ode – Pepe, Nketiah, Auba, (+Balogun, Cedric)

So shall we go for it?

The game started well with a goal that came our way in the oddest circumstances but we ll take it. Then we give away a cheap goal by not following Fred in the box…Following this, we give away another cheap goal but we quickly react and get an equalizer after a good transition phase seeing Martinelli square off with Odegaard. Odegaard then slices a player in our box for no reason…gives away a PK that CR7 scores to make it 3-2 and reach his 801 goals. Upsetting loss. Worrying performances by Partey and Auba. Bright lights were our full-backs again, El Neny and our brightest star yesterday Martinelli.

Fatgingergooner says:

“Not sure how we lost that game but we did. As with the Liverpool game, we conceded just before and just after half time. You’re not going to win many games doing that. Also in line with the Liverpool game, we managed to fire up the home team. Arteta’s spat with Klopp sparked Liverpool into life, and our weird goal and a sense of injustice fired up United. The nature of our opener certainly didn’t help our cause. I think we missed Saka’s cutting edge in the final third, and we somehow managed to concede 3 sloppy goals. I’d like to see a front 3 of Martinelli, Saka, ESR for a few games as I think the Brazilian looks really sharp and it’s clear that Auba is struggling. Onwards and upwards”

RC78 rates:

“Ramsdale – 5, nothing wrong but not decisive
Tomy – 6.5, played well
White – 5.5, not his best esp. in the first half
Gabs – 6, the better CB tonight
Tavares – 6.5, played well
Partey – 2.5, quite a disaster today
El Neny – 6, our best midfielder
Odegaard – 5, ghastly, then hero through his goal and then villain by conceding the PK
Martinelli – 7, our best player
Auba – 4.5, another outing that begs the question of his utility to the team
ESR – 5.5, quiet by his standard”

Yesterday our two worse players were Partey and Auba and Odegaard, besides his goal, was also poor.

If these 3 do not perform, we have Lokonga/El Neny + Martinelli-Laca and even Nketiah in our locker so I would agree with Fatgingergooner and as in a previous post, let us just play Martinelli, ESR, Saka up front and may be we make them play with Laca in our 4231 set-up. These 4 players are showming more hunger and form:

Rams – Tommy, White, Gabs, Nuno – Lokonga, El Neny – Saka, ESR, Martinelli – Laca

Arteta: 4.5.

Man Utd: MOTM – CR7 because of his two goals.

How we lost this game is still a mystery.

So Man Utd invested massively over the summer with Varane, Sancho and also brought CR7 back to Old Trafford. They have a quality and talented squad for sure but for some reason, they have not gelled yet. I am hoping that their struggle will continue at least until February 😛

My love for AFC grew in the 90s and my dislike for Man Utd grew proportionally as their team back then was full of annoying players from Schmeichel to Neville to Keane and RVN but also talented ones like Scholes and Giggs but anyways, for me, I get even more annoyed with Man Utd than with Spurs…anyways…

Tonight is about “not losing” – making sure that we are solid, do not give away cheap chances and goals. Stay focused and pounce on the counter if you can. We need resilience, power and pace today to keep Utd at bay. They have a devastating strike force with Rashford, CR7, Sancho (+ their subs) and then Fernandes can create a goal of nothing. I always feel that Maguire has a goal but also a mistake in him so for me, it is going to come down to who is going to dominate the midfield and makes the least mistake and I d play the following line-up:

Rams – Tomy, White, Gabs, Nuno – Partey, Lokonga – Saka, ESR, AMN – Laca

but I am expecting: Rams – Tomy, White, Gabs, Nuno – Partey, Lokonga – Saka, Laca, ESR – Auba

Whoever starts, let them put in a good shift and bring at least a point back from Man Utd.

COYG!