FourFourTwo: 5 questions Jose Mourinho must answer to fix Manchester United's problems
By: Paul Wilkes
1. Who partners Eric Bailly in the centre of defence?
Manchester United conceded just one goal in the opening three matches, but have since shipped six in their last three games in all competitions. It's arguable that they have come up against a better quality of striker recently, although four of those goals have come from midfielders and Troy Deeney's late strike for Watford was from the penalty spot. Eric Bailly has featured in every game so far and the former Espanyol centre-back started life at Old Trafford comfortably, as he demonstrated his on-the-ball finesse and positional sense. However, he did struggle against the pace and power of Deeney and Odion Ighalo. It's easy to forget he's only 22, has fewer than 70 first team appearances and is adapting to a new club and country. Blind or Smalling? Jose Mourinho likes to build his teams around a solid base, but Daley Blind's performance in the derby has seen him removed from the starting XI. He failed to anticipate Kevin De Bruyne's touch and could only watch as the Belgian raced through to open the scoring for Manchester City, whilst he played Kelechi Iheanacho onside as the away team doubled their advantage. Chris Smalling has featured in the previous two encounters and is certainly a better defender than the Dutchman. Blind is more vocal when it comes to organising the back four than Smalling, though, which has led to the conundrum that Mourinho has to deal with until at least January. 
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