Manchester United hasn’t had a fantastic season thus far, but on Saturday, after two straight losses, Erik ten Hag’s team defeated Southampton away for their second Premier League victory of the year.

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After enduring some early pressure from the Saints, the Red Devils scored three goals to secure all three points and, hopefully, begin a run of improved play.

Hag-Man-Utd-Man-City Ten
It was far from flawless, though, and with a League Cup match against Barnsley this evening, Ten Hag could want to make some adjustments and bench a starting who didn’t play well over the weekend.

Kobbie Mainoo’s numerical game

Yes, wonderkid Kobbie Mainoo is the starter in question. Before you get too excited, let us clarify that we’re not suggesting he sit out several games, but given that he appeared a touch off pace on Saturday, it wouldn’t hurt for him to miss tonight’s game.

We’re not the only ones who believe the young Englishman wasn’t playing well for the Red Devils.

He received a mere 5/10 from ESPN’s Adam Brown following the encounter, describing it as a “tough match” in which the teenager “saw him struggle to move the ball forwards, giving away possession on a number of occasions.”

Mainoo-man-utd Kobbie
Although it sounds harsh, the evaluation is supported by the gem from Stockport who played in the game. For instance, he mishandled his one cross, lost the ball 14 times, failed 50% of his dribbling attempts, and committed two fouls in his 96 minutes of play.

The youthful “baller,” as U23 scout Antonio Mango termed him, didn’t play well for United overall, which is one of the reasons he ought to be benched for tonight’s match.

Mainoo-man-utd Kobbie
The other is that Ten Hag will be able to play another star midfielder some much-needed minutes against lesser opponents, and he shouldn’t be overplayed at his age.

Reasons for starting Manuel Ugarte

For these two straightforward reasons, Manuel Ugarte should start in the midfield ahead of Mainoo when the teamsheets for tonight’s game are released.

Man-Utd-Ten-Hag-Ugarte
First, as we mentioned earlier, it is important to control the young player’s playing time this season. Despite his immense talent, playing him too much will not benefit anyone and may even hinder his growth in the future.

Ten Hag should choose the summer signing this evening for two main reasons, though. First, he is obviously fit enough to play after playing 90 minutes against Venezuela and 79 minutes against Paraguay during the international break.

Ugarte-Man-Utd
The easiest approach to address this is to have him playing competitive games as soon as possible. Despite his apparent physical readiness to start for United, he may not possess the match sharpness or full awareness of what the manager wants him to do for the club.

It would be hazardous to start the Uruguayan “monster,” as Statman Dave called him, in a league game, but since Barnsley is presently playing in League One, even a shaky and erratic performance from the 24-cap international should be sufficient.

Report on Ugarte FBref Scouting

Statistics

As for 90

The percentile

Attacks

4.21

Top 1%

Interceptions

2.06

Top 1%

Won’s Tackles

2.42

Top 2%

Dribblers Engaged

1.87

Top 2%

Ball Healing

7.63

Top 4%

Pass the final exam.

Ninety-one percent

Top 5%

Every Stat via FBref

After all, the 23-year-old ranks in the top 1% of midfielders for tackles and interceptions, the top 2% for tackles won and dribblers tackled, the top 4% for ball recoveries, the top 5% for pass completion, and the top 9% for carries, all per 90, according to FBref, which compares players in similar positions across Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League.

In the end, Ugarte needs more playing time to really grasp his job at United, and Mainoo may use a break following his somewhat lackluster performance the previous time out. Ten Hag has the ideal chance to do both tonight when the team plays Barnsley.