Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column where Nick Wright uses a mix of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know stories from across the Premier League. This week:
🔴 Hold or spin for Amorim's system?🔴 The value of Martinez's long passing🔴 Need Ugarte against Gravenberch?🔴 Jones shows what Man Utd is missing
The defensive conundrum of Amorim
Manchester United's dismal form has led to calls for Ruben Amorim to change his system. With 11 goals conceded in the last four games and plenty of evidence that his players are uncomfortable playing three at the back, it's easy to see why.
But giving up his favorite formation should be a last resort. “He's clearly committed to it,” Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said after Monday's defeat to Newcastle. “If he turns away from that, what's the point of him being there?” added Jamie Carragher.
Before that match, Carragher had expertly detailed the struggles of natural full-backs Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui in the full-back positions. “They don't think about attacking players,” he said. But that might not be a bad thing against Mohamed Salah and the rest.
The pair started as full-backs against Manchester City last month. After all, their presence nullified Pep Guardiola's side on the flanks as Amorim's side secured a memorable 2-1 victory, offering a glimmer of hope ahead of Sunday's trip to Anfield.
Of course, facing this rampant Liverpool is a much more difficult prospect than facing a poorly out-of-control Manchester City. But the result at the Etihad Stadium showed that Amorim's system had the potential to bring success in a difficult away match.
With the back three becoming a back five out of possession, and with Harry Maguire in his element defending his own penalty area, Amorim's side were able to restrict Manchester City to their lowest total shots (10) and expected goals (0.95) in a home game. play all season.
They will have to show even greater resilience at Anfield, a quality they have lacked in the intervening games. But sticking to Amorim's system and deploying wide centre-backs and full-backs to double Salah and Cody Gakpo on the wings could be Manchester United's best hope of keeping Liverpool at bay.
Martinez struggles but passes the key long
Lisandro Martinez endured a torrid night against Newcastle, with Alexander Isak and Joelinton easily beating him in the air to score the decisive goals before pulling away in the second half.
It wasn't the first time he's had defensive issues lately. “He's been caught more in a back three than in a four,” Carragher said. “I actually thought this would be the perfect system for him, with the security of two bigger players, but he looks worse.”
His poor form as he adapts to a new role has rightly put his starting place under scrutiny. Drastic improvement is needed in his work off the ball. However, in that respect he remains crucial. Martinez is by far the best passer among Manchester United's defensive options. His forward-thinking distribution will be needed at Anfield.
In his new position on the left of the back three, his long passes over the opposition defensive line were one of the few sustained sources of danger for Amorim's side.
He set up Amad Diallo's late winner at the Etihad Stadium with one such pass and there was another example in the defeat to Newcastle when he put Rasmus Hojlund through on goal for a chance that the striker just missed in the first half. steered next to the post.
Liverpool will no doubt try to ensure he doesn't get as much time to choose his passes. But their high defensive line should create opportunities, as it did for Arsenal's Ben White when he set up Bukayo Saka's opener against Liverpool with a similar pass at the Emirates Stadium in October.
Ugarte's energy needed in midfield
Manchester United will need both their midfielders and their defenders to play their roles. A repeat of Monday's match at Old Trafford, when Casemiro and Christian Eriksen were completely overrun by Newcastle, is difficult for the supporters to imagine.
Much more energy and intensity will be needed against Liverpool, so Manuel Ugarte's return from suspension, along with that of Bruno Fernandes, after his red card against Wolves, comes at the right time.
The pair exert significantly more sprints and pressure than United's other available midfielders. Ugarte tops the table for both tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes.
These are qualities that proved vital against Manchester City and the same will be true against Liverpool, with Slot's side, like Eddie Howe's, able to physically dominate the center of the pitch, led by Ryan Gravenberch , who excelled this season as their number 6. .
Ugarte cannot claim to have had the same impact since joining Manchester United from Paris Saint-Germain in August. But he has certainly been one of Amorim's better players in recent games, suggesting he is adapting to the demands of the Premier League.
There are still questions about his distribution. He has only forwarded 21 percent of his passes this season, highlighting his conservatism on the ball. But in the cauldron of Anfield, a bit of control, along with his defensive mindset, could be useful.
Jones shows what Man Utd are missing
Ugarte offers intensity from the ball; Fernandes delivers quality. However, Liverpool have midfielders who do both, including Curtis Jones, who followed up his goal in the victory over Leicester on Boxing Day with an assist in their 5-0 thrashing of West Ham.
Arne Slot says becoming a father is the reason for his excellent start to the season, but coaching was another factor. The Liverpool boss has asked Jones to streamline his game.
“In my opinion, he hit the ball a little too much,” Slot said about Jones last month. “Now he plays easier and it results in him being much more effective in what he does.”
The numbers certainly support that. With three goals and two assists already in the Premier League, Jones is having by far the most productive season of his career to date, with a goals percentage of 0.55 per 90 minutes, compared to just 0.15 per 90 minutes last season.
The last of these goals, his assist for the third against West Ham, was an example of this new effectiveness as he received the ball and turned in one motion before quickly feeding Salah. His frustrating tendency to overplay is no more.
It's also worth noting that all three of his goals this season, against Chelsea, Newcastle and Leicester, have come from one or two goals. He's averaging fewer touches than he did in the previous four seasons, but he's doing more of them.
This focus on efficiency is also reflected in his death. Jones has completed at least 90 percent of his passes every season at Liverpool, but his current rate of 95.2 percent is his highest yet, putting him at the top of a list dominated by centre-backs.
Unlike the players, who usually have time and space to choose their passes, Jones operates in the middle of the action, where his technical class continues to shine. He has the best accuracy for passing under pressure this season, but also for passing in general. Slot also spoke about the importance of his work rate.
“He can play the ball once or twice now, and he can also dribble the ball and create an extra man in midfield for us,” said the Liverpool boss. “That makes him an all-round midfielder.” It is a profile of player Liverpool's opponents who are still missing on Sunday.
Live radar: what's on Sky this weekend?
Arsenal head to Brighton for the Saturday Night Football match, with coverage from 5pm ahead of the 5.30pm kick-off on Sky Sports Premier League and the Main Event.
On Super Sunday, Fulham and Ipswich will face off in the early match, starting at 2pm, while Liverpool and Manchester United will face each other in the big match at 4.30pm. Coverage of that double-header starts at 1pm on the Sky Sports Premier League and the Main Event.
On Monday Night Football, join David Jones and Jamie Carragher as Vitor Pereira's Wolves take on Nottingham Forest, kicking off at 8pm.
Read the latest Radar column
Diogo Jota's value to Liverpool, Marco Silva's adaptability at Fulham and Arsenal's evolution through the lens of Kieran Tierney and Oleksandr Zinchenko were the topics of the latest column.
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