Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, faces the imperative of pairing Sofyan Amrabat with Kobbie Mainoo in midfield as the Red Devils prepare to host Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Manchester United has experienced a season marked by inconsistency, and their troubles continued as they suffered their 11th defeat of the campaign at the hands of Bournemouth, who convincingly beаt them 3-0 at Old Trafford.

The performance of United against Bournemouth was a stark contrast to their 2-1 victory over Chelsea earlier in the week, with their midfield being exposed and Amrabat often left isolated against the Cherries.

Scott McTominay had an outstanding game against Chelsea, making several penetrating runs into the box and scoring two crucial goals, almost securing a hat-trιck. However, he failed to replicate that success against Andoni Iraola’s side. With McTominay and Bruno Fernandes playing higher up the field, Amrabat lacked the necessary cover to cope with the threаt posed by Bournemouth.

This situation mirrors the earlier issue with Casemiro in the campaign, and Ten Hag must address this concern before the decisive Champions League match against Bayern at Old Trafford. Bayern Munich, the German champions, are unbeaten in 39 consecutive group stage games in the competition. To have any chance of advancing to the round of 16, Manchester United will need to end that streak.

Additionally, they will be reliant on a draw between Copenhagen and Galatasaray in the other group game. However, their primary focus should be on their own challenge. In our opinion, McTominay could be dropped from the lineup.

Although McTominay has thrived in a central attacking midfield role for both club and country this season, his forward runs often leave the team vulnerable due to a lack of defensive cover.

Bournemouth fully exploited this vulnerability, as Andoni pointed out in his post-match interviews. United cannot afford to repeat the same pattern against Bayern.

Following their overwhelming 5-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt, Thomas Tuchel’s side will be determined to overcome Manchester United.

In our view, Kobbie Mainoo, who received praise from Gary Neville for his brilliant full Premier League debut last month, should be included in the starting lineup alongside Amrabat in defensive midfield.

Despite his young age, Mainoo has displayed considerable maturity. Ten Hag has been carefully managing his workload, and he remained an unused substitute in the defeat to Bournemouth.

Mainoo’s work rate and ability to make recoveries make him a better fit alongside Amrabat. As a defensive midfielder, he also possesses better concentration than McTominay.