Here’s how Kouyate is replaced at Old Trafford
There has no better player in the team this season and he justifiably collected the Player of the Month award from a London newspaper.
It’s a hard one but the manager has options and I’ve tried very hard to put myself in his position and come up with an answer to perhaps the worst dilemma he could have faced at this stage of the season.
He can’t change the system – what started at Hull so wel,l and became a massive success against Liverpool, must be continued.
So the diamond formation has to stay and although Stewart Downing did a brilliant job at its tip on Saturday where the main intention was to keep Steven Gerrard quiet, that will need to be reshuffled.
So Stewart would be best moving to the left side where he was outstanding against Hull with Mark Noble on the right and Alex Song at its bottom.
That leads me to believe that Mauro Zarate is the man to go in at the top of the diamond where he can be very effective given a chance.
Of course it’s not ideal and we know the best team will always include Cheik but I think this can work with Morgan Amalfitano on the bench ready to come on should something need tweaking.
What we can’t do is to sink into a defensive or even different formation given the way things have gone so far.
Zarate tired against Hull but was outstanding against Palace so he’ll be hoping, and so will I, that his moment to show himself at his very best will come at Old Trafford.