Mauricio Pochettino has been named Manchester United’s new head coach.

He takes over from Michael Carrick, who was sacked earlier this week after a disastrous start to the season, with the Red Devils in the bottom three.

But can Pochettino put United players back on the Fantasy radar?

This Scout Report takes a closer look.

• READ MORE: When is the best time to Free Hit in FPL?

TOUGH START AWAITS

United’s first match under Pochettino is away at Liverpool after the international break, a particularly difficult start given that he will only take over on Wednesday due to his commitments with the US national team.

That leaves, at most, three days of training with his new players before the trip to Anfield.

The positives, however, are that United rank third on the ticker for fixture difficulty in the subsequent four Gameweeks, when they face Brentford, Newcastle United, Coventry City and Crystal Palace.

Those on a Gameweek 14 Free Hit could potentially jump on United players for the home encounter with Coventry, provided they have shown enough to justify investment.

AVOID THE DEFENCE FOR NOW

Only Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace have conceded more than United’s 19 goals in the league this season, and they have yet to keep a clean sheet.

But can Pochettino shore up the defence and add some Fantasy value to their assets?

Based on his time at Chelsea in 2023/24, probably not.

His team were extremely leaky at the back, as they conceded 63 times in 38 league matches. They also ranked mid-table for expected goals conceded (xGC, 58.9) and recorded only eight clean sheets.

“They were really exciting when they had the ball, but it’s not fun to watch your team defend incompetently, as Chelsea often did under Pochettino, while making unforced errors. To some extent, you can put that on the Chelsea players, but Enzo Maresca got them to defend at a much higher level, albeit with a less exciting style of football. Some of their defensive struggles were baked into what Pochettino wanted to do.” – Chelsea writer Liam Twomey, via The Athletic

United’s defensive frailties are certainly one of Pochettino’s most pressing concerns, then.

FLYING FULL-BACKS

Still, Pochettino typically relies upon his full-backs to provide the width, so it is a situation we will need to monitor.

In the 2017/18 season at Tottenham Hotspur, Ben Davies (£3.9m) and Kieran Trippier supplied seven assists apiece, as they ended the season first and second among defenders for chances created.

More recently, Malo Gusto (£4.8m) produced six assists while playing under Pochettino in 2023/24.

Sergino Dest was a real threat down the right flank for the US at last summer’s World Cup, too.

But United are poor in this area…

Above: How Man Utd have used their full-backs so far this season, via our Minutes Tracker

Diogo Dalot (£4.7m) is out of form, while Luke Shaw (£4.2m) has only started five league games due to injury.

Patrick Dorgu (£5.7m) did at least show some potential before the international break, with a goal and an assist off the bench against Aston Villa. His dynamism could be preferred to Shaw, but his classification as a midfielder in FPL blunts his appeal.

It’s probably the defensive contribution (DefCon) centre-backs we’d look towards in FPL anyway, should United tighten up. Thiago Silva would hypothetically have led the way for DefCons among Pochettino’s backline at Chelsea, with a 29% hit rate.

A 4-2-3-1, BUT TACTICAL FLEXIBILITY

Pochettino is likely to use a 4-2-3-1 formation, his favoured approach at Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.

Above: Chelsea’s average position map v Bournemouth in 2023/24, Pochettino’s final match in charge, featuring Cole Palmer (No 20)

However, Pochettino is flexible, having previously used a back three, as well as a 4-3-3 formation at Paris Saint-Germain, when he had to accommodate Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

He also built a hybrid back three/four system for the US national team, simply to get the best out of their wing-backs, where they had much more depth.

ATTACK-MINDED FOOTBALL – GOOD FOR BRUNO?

Pochettino is known for his high-intensity, attacking style of football, which is built around lots of heavy pressing.

Under his leadership, his youthful Chelsea team scored 77 goals in 38 league matches in 2023/24. They also racked up 122 big chances, just two fewer than champions Manchester City.

Cole Palmer (£9.8m) in particular flourished, with 22 goals and 13 assists in 29 starts and a handful of substitute appearances.

Nicolas Jackson (£7.1m) was also presented with plenty of opportunities…

Above: Chelsea players sorted by expected goal involvement (xGI) in 2023/24

Pochettino’s ability to platform his attackers could be a real plus for United, then.

“The best thing about Pochettino at Chelsea was how he gave a platform to young players, such as Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson. He goes to great lengths to create a positive environment for his players, especially attackers.” – Chelsea writer Liam Twomey, via The Athletic

Bruno Fernandes (£11.6m) as the ’10’ on penalties is an obvious consideration for Fantasy managers.

The Portuguese playmaker has been well below his best for the majority of the season so far, but still has six attacking returns in nine matches. He has also created 23 chances, the fourth-most of any player.

Aside from Fernandes, the narrow positions Pochettino’s wingers occupy (remember, the full-backs provide the width) should suit Bryan Mbeumo (£7.9m) and Matheus Cunha (£7.8m). Both are likely to play close to Fernandes and the central striker.  

Pochettino has also spoken fondly of Marcus Rashford (£6.8m) in the past.

Could he be a solution as a makeshift number nine until Benjamin Sesko (£6.9m) returns from injury? Mbeumo or Cunha could, of course, lead the line, too.

YOUTH FOCUS

Given his high-energy approach, Pochettino typically favours younger players.

From Shaw at Southampton to Dele Alli at Tottenham and Palmer at Chelsea, he has consistently placed his faith in youth.

That could mean we see plenty more of DefCon magnet Kobbie Mainoo (£5.5m), who has arguably been United’s best player so far this season.

Leny Yoro (£4.8m), Carlos Baleba (£4.9m), Andrey Santos (£4.7m), Shea Lacey (£4.9m) and Amad Diallo (£5.7m) are some of the other young players who could provide an injection of energy.

FINAL WORD

Pochettino could be a great fit for United, but from a Fantasy perspective, we need to wait and see how it develops.

A trip to Anfield next weekend, plus a Champions League encounter with Sporting, at least gives us time to assess the team’s set-up before their schedule starts to improve.

The defence is by far the biggest concern.

There should be some immediate improvement in attack, however. Certainly, Fernandes has plenty of potential as a roaming No 10, while Mbeumo and Cunha could also attract some interest.

That said, Pochettino will want his United side to play high-energy, attacking football. Whether his squad has the attributes to deliver that in the early weeks remains up for debate.