2016/17 preview: New-look Man Utd eye PL title

With the new Premier League season only days away, we look at each club competing in the 2016/17 campaign. 

Manchester United

Under the guidance of three-time champion Jose Mourinho, Manchester United will be vying to win an unprecedented 14th PL title in 2016/17.

Highest finishing position 

The Red Devils are the most successful Premier League team, having been crowned champions on 13 occasions.

They won four of the first five PL campaigns and have finished outside of the top four on only two occasions.

Signings 

Mourinho has drafted in four major signings so far this summer strengthening his squad in every outfield department.

Central defender Eric Bailly - United's Man of the Match on his competitive debut in the FA Community Shield on Sunday - arrived first and has since been joined by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the striker, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the attacking midfielder; a pairing who registered a combined 49 goals and 26 league assists last season for Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund respectively.

Paul Pogba represents the final piece of the jigsaw, the France midfielder returning from Juventus to the club he served as a teenager as one of the most heralded midfielders in world football.

Expected formation

United operated mainly in a 4-2-3-1 formation last season and it is a system that looks likely to stick in 2016/17.

The expected set-up will allow for a raft of attacking midfield options behind one of Ibrahimovic or Marcus Rashford, with Wayne Rooney expected to be pushed back upfield after a stint in midfield.

"For me he will be a [number] 9, 10 or a 9-and-a-half, but not a 6 or even an 8," Mourinho said of his captain recently. 

Managers

Mourinho will take charge of his 213th Premier League match on Sunday 14 August when United travel to AFC Bournemouth.

To date he has won 140 matches, drawing 44 and losing 28 and joins United with the best win percentage of any PL manager past or present (66%) – 0.8% clear of Sir Alex Ferguson. 

 Best win percentage of PL managers

Ferguson led United to all of their Premier League titles before retiring in 2013. Since then, David Moyes, Ryan Giggs (interim) and Louis van Gaal have been in charge at Old Trafford.

Last season

Man Utd finished fifth in 2015/16, narrowly missing out on the final UEFA Champions League-qualification place to rivals Manchester City.

They did win their first FA Cup for 12 years, however, and finished the PL campaign with the joint-best defensive record in the top flight (35 goals conceded).

Pre-season form

United’s summer preparations have been slightly hampered due to the postponement of their International Champions Cup clash with Man City due to adverse weather conditions, leaving them with four matches leading up to the FA Community Shield against Leicester City, which they won 2-1 courtesy of a late winner from Ibrahimovic.

Nonetheless, a defeat to Borussia Dortmund aside, United enjoyed victories over Wigan Athletic and Galatasaray. Five goals were scored against the Turkish side with Ibrahimovic producing a scissor kick four minutes into his debut.

Significant injuries

Chris Smalling and Timothy Fosu-Mensah returned from minor injuries to train last week, leaving Mourinho with a full squad to choose from ahead of the PL curtain raiser.

The club’s biggest boost of pre-season has been the return of Luke Shaw, who is set to take his place at left-back after managing only five league matches last term.

What the manager says

"I’m not humble when I talk about targets, I’m quite aggressive on that. I want everything and everything is to win matches, play well, score goals, don’t concede goals… everything. I want everything."

Did you know?

Manchester United have not won the PL title since 2012/13; they have never gone four successive Premier League seasons without being crowned champions.

AFC Bournemouth v Manchester United: Pre-match statistics and head-to-head record