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By Neel Shelat
The Red Devils will have to be wary of the Dutch side’s attacking threat if they are to enjoy a good start to their European campaign.
Ten Hag reunited with his boyhood club
Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has not enjoyed the smoothest of starts to the season, so he will hope that his boyhood club does not add to his miseries. Born and brought up in the Twente region, he started and ended his playing career with the club. Of course, he has continued to follow them closely as a fan and therefore was not too pleased with the draw, saying, “I would have preferred to play against someone else, it’s not nice to have to hurt something you love.”
He will have to put emotions aside for 90 minutes at least, and he will have a lot to think about for the match. Besides coming up with a plan to limit Twente’s threat, the 54-year-old Dutchman will have to make a lot of decisions in his quest to balance squad rotation with consistently high performance levels. The outcome of such an attempt was not perfect on the weekend as Manchester United could only manage a goalless draw against Crystal Palace, so it will be interesting to see what changes he makes.
Twente pack an attacking punch
FC Twente have been one of the Eredivisie’s most consistent overperformers in recent years. Having last won promotion as recently as 2019, they have done quite well to finish in the top five in each of the last three seasons. Add to that their attack-minded style of play – first under Ron Jans and now Joseph Oosting – and it becomes easy to see why they are quite well-liked by neutrals.
The Reds have already built up some nice momentum with back-to-back wins against Heerenveen and Almere City in the last week, contributing to the second-highest aggregate xG tally in the league in the process.
Having already scored seven goals in eight matches this season, attacking midfielder Sem Steijn will likely their most threatening player at Old Trafford. The team’s direct play with the ball and ability to make the most of transitions after turnovers should see them test Manchester United’s defence in various ways.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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