Former Manchester United defender Danny Higginbotham has identified midfielder Juan Mata as being key to the Red Devils’ chances against Liverpool on Sunday.
Jose Mourinho’s side will undoubtedly go into the game at Anfield as underdogs against Jurgen Klopp’s league leaders, but Higginbotham feels Mata, 30, could play a big part in the fixture’s outcome.
“Unless Juan Mata is on the pitch, it is very difficult for United to see a player drift into that No 10 position, so I think Mata becomes vital when a) United play against teams who will sit back and b) against sides like Liverpool, where you will be giving up possession and looking to play on the counter attack,” he wrote on the Sky Sports website.
“I think he’ll be told to get himself into an area, when United are defending, where he can’t be picked up. So when United pick the ball up, their first pass would be to Mata. If they can find Mata free, all of a sudden they might have a [Jesse] Lingard, a [Marcus] Rashford, a [Anthony] Martial running off him down the channels.”
OPINION
Higginbotham makes some good points here. Mata isn’t a certain starter on Sunday, of course – Mourinho has a tendency to drop him for big games. However, the Spaniard certainly should be in the United starting line up at Anfield. He is one of the team’s most creative players and that could be key, as Higginbotham says, when United are on the counter against the Reds. He is the one who can calmly pick a pass and use his vision to find a pacy player like Rashford or Martial on the break. He can get between the lines and possibly unlock one of the stoutest defences in the Premier League. Watching United over the past few months it’s difficult to see them breaking Liverpool down without Mata on the pitch – unless someone like Martial or Paul Pogba comes up with a moment of genius. The former Chelsea man is a very intelligent player and you need that in games like this. Liverpool will be tremendously tough opposition on Sunday, but there’s no doubt that United will have more chance of coming away with something if Mata is on the pitch.