Dugout Discussion

Pogba back in attacking midfield as Matic returns

Paul Pogba (£8.9m) owners will be delighted to see Nemanja Matic (£5.0m) back in the side for Manchester United.

The Serbian international has missed the last three Premier League matches with injury, which forced Pogba to sit deeper than usual.

Matic’s return should allow the Frenchman to play a more advanced role in midfield once again, against an Arsenal defence with just one clean sheet in the last six Gameweeks.

Also of note is the fact that defender Diogo Dalot (£5.3m) has been named in front three once again.

He played there against Crystal Palace and Southampton, lining up on the right of Romelu Lukaku (£10.8m) at the Emirates Stadium today.

Marcus Rashford (£7.6m) also keeps his place although we will have to wait and see whether he plays centrally alongside Lukaku or out on the left flank.

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has named both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£10.8m) and Alexandre Lacazette (£9.4m) in the starting line-up for the first time since Gameweek 25.

He has also gone with a back-three of Sokratis Papastathopoulos (£5.1m), Laurent Koscielny (£5.4m) and Nacho Monreal (£5.4m) while Sead Kolasinac (£5.0m) and Ainsley Maitland-Niles (£4.4m) occupy the wing-back spots.

Arsenal XI: Leno; Sokratis, Koscielny, Monreal; Maitland-Niles, Ramsey, Xhaka, Kolasinac; Özil; Lacazette, Aubameyang.

Manchester United XI: De Gea; Young, Smalling, Lindelöf; Diogo Dalot, Fred, Matic, Shaw; Pogba; Lukaku, Rashford.

1,439 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Royal5
    • 12 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Did Kola just throw up?

    1. McSauce
      • 14 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      yep

      1. Royal5
        • 12 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Dafuq

    2. jtreble
      • 7 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Yup.

    3. trikster102
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Yeah. Didn't need to see that while eating my takeaway.

      1. Royal5
        • 12 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Lol

    4. SM001
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Have you seen Fred play football?

      1. QueefParkRangers
        • 9 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Or seen how much he cost lolol

    5. DA Minnion (Former great)
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      I feel his pain. First on my bench with three 1 point defenders playing.

  2. tm245
    • 12 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    The incredible shrinking man is on.

  3. Sim Simma
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    Auba is not happy

  4. Louis Van Gaalstones
    • 9 Years
    5 years, 1 month ago

    The midfield was such a mistake today, we've been playing well with Pereira/McTominay, Matic and Fred have been lacking today

    1. Dannyb
      • 7 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      This, Matic doesn't offer anything in midfield for me tbh.

    2. tm245
      • 12 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Herrera is a big miss.

      1. Louis Van Gaalstones
        • 9 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Massively, he's such a leader and an organiser, Pereira is young but he's very vocal and passionate, Matic and Fred don't seem to have that

    3. Ghost Gooner
      • 10 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Nothing wrong with the mid, its the missed chances that killed you especially Lukaku at 0-0

      1. Louis Van Gaalstones
        • 9 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Yeah 100%, he's missed 2 big chances, but we've been consistently hemmed back in the midfield, there's been no dynamism

        1. Ghost Gooner
          • 10 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          We were worse tbh until the pen goal.

          1. Louis Van Gaalstones
            • 9 Years
            5 years, 1 month ago

            Been fairly defensively solid I think, United regularly ran into a wall and went backwards

    4. lindeg
      • 5 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      no youve just stopped being incredibly lucky

    5. jtreble
      • 7 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      ManU mids were OK - I think Ramsey and Xhaka were just better.

  5. Party time
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Somewhere in Russia, Mourinho has a party

    • g40steve
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Get Fred OFF

      1. Fred54
        • 9 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        🙁

    • The Tinkerman
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      Kola puking green bile sorta stuff onto the pitch and carrying on like it’s nothing

      1. Fred54
        • 9 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        It was lactic acid.

        1. Hazz
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 6 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          Not quite.

        2. Pukki Party
          • 6 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          😀

      2. QueefParkRangers
        • 9 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Never exercised out of your comfort zone before?

      3. SM001
        • 8 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Remember Zidane vomed as he stepped up to take a peno against England. Wiped is mouth and then blempt it into the corner. Legend,

    • S3
      • 5 Years
      5 years, 1 month ago

      help!

      1) Son and Sterling to Hazard and Lanzini (-4) have 10 to play GW 32
      2) Son, TAA, Sterling to Mane, Diop, Hazard (-8) have 10 to play GW 32

      Using FH in 32

      1. Sandy Ravage
        • 8 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        same issue, think 2

    • Party time
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Too much hype on OGS. Give me a break please

        1. King Kohli
          • 11 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          Worst performance under him so far. Pogba & Fred have been absolute trash.

          Missed Herrera and Lingard big time.

      • Lazaretti
        • 6 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        I've value tied up in Pogba and Aguero. Would you sell one of them just to get stronger team for GW31? Already have Salah, Robertson, TAA, Higuain, Luiz + couple more GW31 players.

        When using WC there will be anyway few good cheap enablers this year so not so sure if need to care too much about value. (FH32 WC34.)

        Any thoughts? Thank you

        1. Hotdogs for Tea
          • 8 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          Sell for sure, you don’t want that money on your bench for two games and they will drop in price before GW34 anyway 🙂

          1. Lazaretti
            • 6 Years
            5 years, 1 month ago

            True city will most likely blank in GW33 how about ManU?

            And thanks.

            1. TorresMagic™
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • Has Moderation Rights
              • 14 Years
              5 years, 1 month ago

              ManU will.

              1. Lazaretti
                • 6 Years
                5 years, 1 month ago

                Thanks

      • Debauchy
        • 11 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Keep Fred on

      • Hybrid.power
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        A friend of mine captained Sterling and owns Mane. The rest of his team got 2s. He's still doing way better than me, bit annoying that

        1. Fred54
          • 9 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          He's no friend of ours.

      • Yellin' in my Ear
        • 8 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        I benched Kola (currently on for six points)
        My other four defenders scored a total of six points (Robbo, TAA, AWB, Pereira).
        I have Pogba, rash, and DDG in this match (total four points).
        Sigh.

        1. andrewe63
          • 12 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          I benched Jimi and kola, but why wouldn't ya

          1. Business Cat
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 9 Years
            5 years, 1 month ago

            NEVER bench Jiminez!

        2. JoeSoap
          • 10 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          Done Doherty>TAA which meant I benched Jiminez as a result. Other plan was to do Rash/Son>Vardy/Brooks & would have had Jiminez playing. Would nearly have doubled my points.

        3. TheNovocastrian
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 7 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          Fab;
          Robertson, VVD, Luiz, AWB;
          Salah (c), FAnderson, Son, Pogba;
          Rashford, Aguero

          Grand total of 27points

          (Boruc, Jiminez,Camarassa, Bednarek)
          (bench of 24points)

      • Hybrid.power
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        BBC trolling? "Said on 54 minutes that Paul Pogba had been booked, he wasn't, it was only a foul awarded against him."

        1. Rash
          • 6 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          Should have been booked tbf

      • The Tinkerman
        • 8 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Nice little rank boost from that Pogba booking 🙂

      • TheNovocastrian
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 7 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        So if Ars-ManU stays 2-0 I end the game week on 27 points (and a total of 24 on my bench).

        Anyone have a worse week than this??

      • Barca_Rover
        • 8 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Will Lascelles play the next one ? what is his injury about

        1. Demba Demba
          • 12 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          no idea, was a knee injury. With Scharr suspended and Clark injured tho if he is fit he'll have to play

      • diesel001
        • 7 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Any other Anderson owners get the feeling he will be benched in GW31? Hauled off early yesterday so Pellegrini clearly wasn't impressed.

      • Danstoke82
        • 9 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Pogba has been absolute dross this afternoon. Has the wagon well and truly left us now? He can’t even pass the ball.

        1. Ghost Gooner
          • 10 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          If no value tied up I'd just sell. No United for me atm

      • Kuzser
        • 7 Years
        5 years, 1 month ago

        Gw29: had Auba, who brought -1 point
        Gw30: got Higuain for Auba...
        Jimenez is 1st on the bench
        Anderson 1pointer vs rubbish Cardiff
        Leicester couldn't keep a clean sheet even vs Fulham

        Every week I'm falling and falling...worst season ever
        Anything can help that team?
        1) pogba->mane
        2) pogba Aguero-> mane Wilson for -4 and bench barnes

        Fab
        Robbo Pereira Lejeune luiz
        Anderson Salah McNeil Barnes
        Higuain
        Subs: awb pogba Jimenez Aguero

        1. diesel001
          • 7 Years
          5 years, 1 month ago

          Toss a coin to make your decisions. Take your own mentality out of it.

      • Party time
          5 years, 1 month ago

          Anyone here w Nketia?

          1. Fred54
            • 9 Years
            5 years, 1 month ago

            Mail order, is she?

            1. Party time
                5 years, 1 month ago

                Hahaha... Get out!

                1. Fred54
                  • 9 Years
                  5 years, 1 month ago

                  They keep praying I get subbed off.

          2. jtreble
            • 7 Years
            5 years, 1 month ago

            Jon Moss: worst referee in EPL. We need VAR now.

          3. Debauchy
            • 11 Years
            5 years, 1 month ago

            Keep it clean boys

          4. QueefParkRangers
            • 9 Years
            5 years, 1 month ago

            Hopefully thats Chelsea and united now out of the top 4.

            Time to make way for the big 4

          5. FPL Daniel
            • 14 Years
            5 years, 1 month ago

            Lads Hudson has served me great. Perfect bench fodder for 4.2m, I will implement that strategy again next year. Allows more money in the starting 11.

            Now I am under dilemma. Should I leave him and hope for cameo in GW 31 or upgrade for -4 to Fraser or similar?

            Thoughts.

            Thanks

            1. Brosstan
              • 9 Years
              5 years, 1 month ago

              I think Ive needed my third bench player twice this season. Best just pick the cheapest guy who might get some minutes.

            2. FPL Daniel
              • 14 Years
              5 years, 1 month ago

              Other option is Jimmy out

          6. Weasel Boy
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 11 Years
            5 years, 1 month ago

            20 pts laughing at me from the bench.
            Shocking week.

            1. waitinginthelonggrass
              • 13 Years
              5 years, 1 month ago

              Same. JWP hauls on the bench for me three weeks in rows

              1. Weasel Boy
                • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                • 11 Years
                5 years, 1 month ago

                Harsh

          7. Party time
              5 years, 1 month ago

              Heck! I benched Jimmy and Kola. Sht

            • Sandy Ravage
              • 8 Years
              5 years, 1 month ago

              Kola YC

            • Fred54
              • 9 Years
              5 years, 1 month ago

              Koka YC.

            • tm245
              • 12 Years
              5 years, 1 month ago

              Kola YC