Man Utd vs Sunderland preview
Anthony Martial will hope to extend the excellent start to his Manchester United career with more goals against bottom-placed Sunderland at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The French teenager introduced himself to the English game by coming off the bench to score the goal that secured United’s 3-1 victory over Liverpool. He followed that up with a brace at Southampton, plus another well-taken goal in United’s 3-0 Capital One Cup win over Ipswich Town.
Wayne Rooney also scored in midweek and this could be the perfect game for the United skipper to end his Premier League goal drought because the Black Cats have the worst defensive record in the league.
Sunderland have shipped 13 goals already and Manchester City easily stormed to a 0-4 lead in the opening 38 minutes of their Capital One Cup encounter with the Black Cats on Tuesday.
John O’Shea, the former Manchester United stalwart, has implored his fellow Sunderland defenders to forget about the City game and focus on denying Manchester United on Saturday.
Sunderland can draw confidence from their recent record against United. They have won three of their last five games against the Old Trafford club.
All of those wins came during the David Moyes era when the Red Devils were at their lowest point in decades. Now, United are a different side and they could finish the weekend as league leaders, if City lose at Tottenham and they take advantage in this encounter.
Manchester United team news
- Marcos Rojo is expected to miss this game because of a hamstring injury.
- Van Gaal’s problems at the back could be worsened if Patrick McNair (knock) misses out as well.
- Luke Shaw (broken leg) continues his recovery.
Sunderland team news
- Younes Kaboul is back after serving his suspension in midweek. He will probably partner O’Shea at the heart of defence after Sebastian Coates’ disappointing performance last time out.
- Adam Matthews is definitely out with an ankle problem.
Man Utd vs Sunderland prediction
Van Gaal is unlikely to disturb the central defensive partnership of Chris Smalling and Daley Blind, so Ashley Young could continue at left-back after starting in that position in midweek. Alternatively, the United boss could switch Matteo Darmian to the left and have Phil Jones or Antonio Valencia start at right-back.
There should be no changes in more advanced positions from the side that started at Southampton, so Michael Carrick and Morgan Schneiderlin may start as the central midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Rooney is expected to be the central attacking midfielder, flanked by Juan Mata and Memphis Depay. Martial is the top goalscorer at the club so he will probably continue to lead the attack.
Yann M’Vila and Jordi Gomez could be Sunderland’s central midfielders, with Ola Toivonen using his strength in the number 10 role to provide a target for long balls in a similar 4-2-3-1 formation.
Jeremain Lens and Adam Johnson could start as wide attacking midfielders, with Jermain Defoe as the centre forward. Given that United will start with a makeshift left-back, Advocaat may ask Johnson to keep the width on the right side to isolate whoever starts there.
It is difficult so see the Black Cats denying Van Gaal’s men in this encounter because the evidence from their 4-1 drubbing to Manchester City is that their defence needs a lot of improvement. It is unlikely they will have fixed their many problems in just three days of training, but they could benefit from United’s injury problems.
Score prediction
Manchester United 3-1 Sunderland
