AZ Alkmaar vs Man Utd: 3 players who could change the game on their own in the Europa League encounter between the Cheeseheads and the Red Devils.
Manchester United are in a slump as of late. Victories have become hard to come by with United failing to close the games after leading 1-0. They have allowed Southampton, Wolverhampton, Arsenal and Rochdale to come back after scoring the opening goal.
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Apart from the heartbreaking draws are the difficult to digest losses. The match against West Ham and Crystal Palace are wounds that still hurt their fans. The new season hasn’t lasted 2 months yet. However, the 4-0 victory over Chelsea already seems like a distant memory.
Manchester United will be playing the Europa League this season after finishing 6th last season. This is perhaps best for the team as they look far from ready for Champions league football. They will travel to Netherlands to take on AZ Alkmaar.
AZ Alkmaar update
Instead of the AFAS Stadium, the match will take place in the Cars Jeans Stadium after the roof of their venue collapsed due to strong winds in August. The stadium in Hague, will employ an artificial playing surface. The second such venue in group L after the Astana Arena in Kazakhstan.
The Cheeseheads are enjoying a good run in the Dutch league and sit behind only Ajax and PSV. Following their 3-0 win over Feyenoord last Thursday, the team now enjoy a 4-win streak currently. Quite the contrast with United who have failed to notch up more than 2 consecutive victories this season.
Manchester United will miss the services of a host of players due to injuries. This will mean that there will be spots for the taking for players that have not received the chances they would have liked so far. With that out of the way, let us now take a look at the 3 players who could play a major role in the match between AZ Alkmaar vs Man Utd.
Daniel James
The young winger has been a sensation for Manchester United. The Welshman has looked head and shoulders above his teammates. He was United’s player of the month for his performances in the month of August. James is yet to represent United in the European stage having missed the Red Devils 1-0 victory over Astana at home in their opening match.
Before the match against Chelsea, James hadn’t played a Premier League match as well. However, he made an immediate impact and scored the 4th goal minutes after he was bought into the match. James, who looks set to make his debut against AZ Alkmaar, is unlikely to start in the match today. However, he will look to have a similar debut in the Europa for the Red Devils.
Oussama Idrissi
There have been many players in this side that have been integral to AZ Alkmaar’s success this season. In Ron Vlaar and Jordie Clasie, they have two experienced players who have also played in the Premier League before. Calvin Stengs and Myron Boadu have proved to be very dangerous as well. However, the man that United will probably keep an eye on will be Oussama Idrissi.
The Morroco international has been in ominous form this season and has already netted 6 times in the Eredivisie so far. Despite their draw against Partizan last week, the side looks very dangerous. However, if Alkmaar were to be considered to an arrow, Idrissi would definitely be the sharp point that nails the kill.
Mason Greenwood
The Young Greenwood has very quickly become a huge talking point at the Old Trafford in recent times. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had said that his development was the reason why United decided against purchasing a striker despite Lukaku’s departure.
While the absence of an out and out scorer has come to haunt United in recent times, Greenwood’s development has been rapid. The 17-year old has shined every time he has been given a decent opportunity. He was United’s lone bright spot in the 1-0 win over Astana. He also scored their only goal against Rochdale in the Carabao cup.
Solskjaer will look to United’s youngest ever goal scorer in Europe to give them the breakthrough against a tough AZ side today and help them come back with the all important 3 points from the Alkmaar vs Man Utd match.
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