A new Rúben Amorim tactic hands Manchester United trio the perfect chance to impress vs Tottenham

There is a new tactic that Rúben Amorim may employ that hands three Manchester United stars the perfect chance to impress against Tottenham Hotspur.

Life hasn’t been too easy for Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Højlund for large parts of this season, with both showcasing glimpses of quality but struggling for consistency.

It is normal for young, developing forwards to have such ups and downs in form but given Manchester United’s current situation, many fans do not have the patience for development and there is no senior striker to take the burden from the two youngsters.

Alejandro Garnacho is also starting to play his way back into form after struggling for much of the season, with a lot of the January transfer window being surrounded by talk that United were prepared to sell him to alleviate financial pressures.

This weekend’s game against Tottenham Hotspur, a team struggling even more than United, poses a great opportunity for these forwards to get back amongst the goals and hopefully kick off a more prosperous run of form than they have been recently.

Tottenham’s current struggles

In their last ten Premier League games, Ange Postecoglou’s side have conceded 22 goals, including four against Chelsea, six against Liverpool, and three against Everton. In two of those 10 games, they kept clean sheets. When Spurs let goals in, they let in plenty.

Having been ravaged by injuries, they have had to play a makeshift back four including 18 year old midfielder Archie Gray at centre back. New signing Kevin Danso has bolstered their back four but it is still not an area of strength for Spurs right now.

Having struggled for goals this season, United have a real opportunity to put some balls in the back of the net in North London on Sunday. They already scored three goals at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during a 4-3 Carabao Cup defeat in December. United had the opportunity to score even more that game whilst also conceding a few very cheap goals.

Spurs will press high up the pitch and leave their line high, the space in behind will play to the strengths of Højlund and Garnacho if they can be found in the channels, and if Zirkzee plays he can disorganise Spurs’ backline by dropping to get on the ball and facilitating for United’s other attackers.

Amorim’s new tactic could benefit

In the last couple of games, Højlund and Zirkzee have played together for the last portion of games – with Zirkzee dropping deeper and Højlund occupying the centre backs. This dynamic plays to their strengths, naturally creating space for each other.

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With United having just four senior attackers in the squad after Rashford’s loan to Aston Villa, the attacking unit is thin but it could be a great opportunity for Amorim to start utilising this pairing more in attack, and could help both of them get back into form.

United’s best football has come with Amad playing as a right wing back, and Amad has arguably performed better there due to being able to get on the ball and influence the game more.

Amad and new signing Patrick Dorgu as wing backs, with Garnacho and Zirkzee playing in the number 10 positions behind Højlund could be United’s best shot at success in this game, should Bruno Fernandes continue to operate in a deeper position.

Alternatively, Christian Eriksen could start alongside Garnacho in the other number 10 spot, with one of Højlund or Zirkzee dropping out of the lineup and impacting the game from the bench. United’s possession play is better with Eriksen than without him. But this game offers a big opportunity for Amorim to try out the new tactic and try to get his strikers firing again.

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