Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas is seemingly not overly impressed with Man Utd so far this season after previewing their clash with Crystal Palace this weekend.
The Red Devils secured a 4-0 win over Chelsea in their first outing of the new Premier League campaign, before picking up a point at Molineux against Wolves on Monday night.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be pleased with that return, albeit there have been concerns along the way in terms of vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the side that will need to be addressed if they wish to compete moving forward.
It’s those issues that Nicholas has picked up on in his preview ahead of United’s clash with Palace on Saturday, as he has singled out the midfield and defence as weak areas for Man Utd still.
“Everyone was getting excited about Manchester United after the 4-0 win over Chelsea but they got a bit of a reality check in the second half on Monday Night Football at Wolves, who are a good side,” he told Sky Sports. “United have pace up front with Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard, but are pretty average in midfield.
“Scott McTominay is a challenge physically but not a great forward passer and at the back, Harry Maguire will improve, but it will take him time. I am not surprised they spent £50m on Aaron Wan-Bissaka but he is young and wants to get forward, which could see spaces in defence.
“They still have some issues to sort, but Palace have not started well at all.”
Nicholas added that he expects United to win the 3-1 this weekend, but he does make valid points as Chelsea certainly threatened in the first half at Old Trafford, while Wolves looked a real threat after the break earlier this week to expose some frailties in the Man Utd defence.
Further, having failed to replace Ander Herrera this summer, the onus will be on the likes of McTominay and Andreas Pereira to fill the void in midfield, and question marks can be raised over whether or not that will be enough for Solskjaer and his side to challenge for trophies and a top-four finish in the Premier League.
