Adrian Clarke looks at key tactical points and players who can be decisive in Matchweek 19.
Manchester United
Successive fixture postponements mean we are still in the early stages of Ralf Rangnick’s tactical revolution at Manchester United.
But during the 1-0 victories over Crystal Palace and Norwich City there were clear signs of how the German intends to alter the team’s approach and what we are likely to see at Newcastle United on Monday.
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The most obvious difference has been a change of shape.
Rangnick has changed Man Utd's formation from 4-2-3-1 to 4-2-2-2, similar to the system used by Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford used as a front two.
In this shape United also employ twin No 10s who are stationed as inverted wide men, with the freedom to interchange positions.
Until now, Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes have been asked to perform those roles.
Aggressive in regaining possession
Rangnick’s fondness for "gegenpressing" (or counter-pressing) is well documented and in his first match we saw an instant change from the strategy adopted by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Man Utd’s off-the-ball work was visibly more hostile. They pressed in a co-ordinated way high up the pitch, making it extremely hard for Palace to play through the middle.
Whenever the front two triggered some closing-down, the entire team squeezed up behind them to congest space, suffocating the Eagles.
United recovered possession 12 times inside the final third against Palace, their season-high figure, and 30 times overall inside the opposition half.
By contrast, in Solskjaer’s final match at the helm - the 4-1 loss at Watford - the Red Devils had been passive and won possession back just seven times in that domain.
As a result of this vastly-improved pressing game, United’s attacking players got on the ball much more frequently in advanced areas against Palace.
The heat maps below from Solskjaer’s final match and Rangnick's first against the Eagles highlight the stark difference in where Man Utd's players touched the ball.
United made 65 ball recoveries at home to Palace on Rangnick’s debut, their joint second-highest tally of the campaign.
And while the press was not as effective in the following match at Norwich, they nonetheless made 70 ball recoveries, their best number this season.
This is a sure-fire sign that the shape has become more compact.
Increasing the goal threat
The next challenge Rangnick will lay down to his players will be to deliver more verve and fluidity in possession, starting against a struggling Newcastle side.
Ronaldo and Rashford are yet to click as a pairing, while Fernandes and Sancho are also still adjusting to their new tactical requirements.
In a match that they should dominate territory-wise, Man Utd must find ways to create more clear-cut openings in their new shape.
If this happens, Rangnick’s remodelling of the side will have truly gathered pace.
