Manchester United need the perfect plan for Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford this week

It might seem churlish to say of a team who have scored four goals in two games, but the biggest impediment to Manchester United reaching a Europa League semi-final and FA Cup final this week might be where the goals come from.

United scored twice against Sevilla last Thursday when it should have been more. By full-time it had to have been more. They then added two more at Nottingham Forest on Sunday, enough this time to claim a Premier League victory, but again they left some out there at the City Ground.

Of those four goals, only one has been scored by a forward, the tap-in Antony earnt against Forest with his instinctive run into the danger area after Anthony Martial had taken aim at the goal. The others came via the left foot of right-footed midfielder Marcel Sabitzer and a surging run from stand-in left-back Diogo Dalot.

READ MORE: Antony is facing new challenge after turning corner

It isn’t doing either player a disservice to suggest scoring goals isn’t their forte and they can’t be relied on to regularly make up the shortfall. United need to spread the goals out and that has worked this week, but there’s still a feeling they need more from their frontline, especially when Marcus Rashford is incapacitated.

United racked up 3.5 xG on Sunday and scored just twice. It isn’t just a problem when Rashford is out to be fair. That figure was 3.4 against Everton a week earlier and again they scored twice. The three they got against Leicester looked good but their xG was as high as 4.4, again suggesting chances were missed that should have been buried.

United will have to score in Seville to avoid a penalty shootout and they face a side that look to be finding form. They will be lifted by their late comeback at Old