It seems that "Manchester United" will still have Louis van Gaal as the coach in the match against "Chelsea". Few people expected this after the recent losses to "Norwich City" and "Stoke City" teams. Bleacher Report analyst Paul Ansorge reviews the most pressing questions leading up to this match.
Coaches:
Independent journalist Ian Herbert reports that Van Gaal is: "Seriously embarrassed by the series of losses and even before Monday's match against 'Chelsea', he is convinced that the team has already crossed the line where he can help them."
"Van Gaal spoke with 'United' vice president Ed Woodward after the 0:2 loss to 'Stoke' on Saturday and was reassured that the team still believes he is the right person for this position," Herbert also states in his article.
Such news from Old Trafford stadium is very good for Chelsea strategist Guus Hiddink. It has been a long time since they faced a better time to meet 'United' - they have not experienced a series of four consecutive losses since 1961.
During Jose Mourinho's coaching, who is linked to a move to 'United', 'Chelsea' had a miserable season and the London team is lagging behind future competitors by a ten-point margin.
Hiddink has been called in to change the team's season. Speaking about the upcoming match, he revealed his outlook to BBC Sport.
"Every 'Chelsea' and 'Manchester United' match is big, but this is particularly important. I hope we will show the ambitions that we showed in the crucial part of the match against 'Watford'," Hiddink said.
These coaches have a lot of shared history, and in 1999, when Louis van Gaal's 'Barcelona' beat Hiddink's 'Real' club 3-0, Hiddink was fired ten days later. These matches provide a great opportunity for the 'Chelsea' coach to exact revenge against his future opponent.
Match:
Match date: December 28th at 7:30 PM.
Match venue: 'Old Trafford' stadium
Team form:
'Manchester United' - two points in the last five matches in the 'Premier' league;
'Chelsea' - five points in the last five matches in the 'Premier' league.
Team news:
"Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger returns after suspension, and defender Matteo Darmian has a chance to return from injury. Jesse Lingard, Marcos Rojo, Antonio Valencia and Luke Shaw are still unable to help the team," - Telegraph reports about the 'United' situation.
Newspapers report that 'Chelsea' will be without Diego Costa, who received his fifth yellow card in the match against 'Watford'. It is also stated that: "Eden Hazard and John Obi Mikel, who came off the bench in the match against 'Watford', could start, and the main candidate to be benched is Cesc Fabregas, who was substituted during the long break."
Predicted line-ups:
'Manchester United':
After the tragic match against 'Stoke', Van Gaal must make changes. In our predicted line-up, Marouane Fellaini is left out of the team, and Wayne Rooney is returned to the starting eleven. The best way to balance Rooney and Herrera's game is to put Rooney up front and send Martial to the wing.
There are many other options that the 'United' coach can choose, but the presented line-up seems to have the most suitable balance between the team's defense and attack, both of which have not been functioning properly lately.
'Chelsea':
The formation that Hiddink can use is presented. Oscar did not play well against 'Watford', so it is likely that Hazard will get a chance in the number ten position, sending Pedro and Willian to the wings. Hazard can also play on the wing instead of Pedro, with Oscar playing in the center.
Players to watch:
Given how poorly the entire team has been performing lately, selecting a 'United' player worthy of mention is difficult. Perhaps Schweinsteiger's return could inspire more fight in the team. After all, three of the last four losses occurred when the German was not in the 'Red Devils' line-up.
Chelsea's attacking trio of full-backs, however they are formed, should pose a serious challenge to 'United's' defense. Willian is worth mentioning, even in a struggling 'Chelsea' team. He leads the team in assists and has scored seven goals in the 'Premier' league and Champions League matches. His strengths should give a serious test to the 'United' team, which has struggled against Nathan Redmond in the match against 'Norwich' and had problems against attacking 'Stoke' players.
Key battle:
Watching this match, the duel between Willian and Daley Blind could be crucial. Can the Dutchman help the attacking teammates while not leaving big gaps for opponent counterattacks? Blind has shown above his capabilities in some matches this season, but with the current problems at 'United', this could be a big task for him.
