VS
Date - Saturday, February 13 2016.
Kickoff Time - 1245 Hrs GMT.
Venue - The Stadium of Light, Sunderland.
League standings and form guide
5. Manchester United : DWLWD
19. Sunderland : WLDLD
Previous Meetings
Manchester United 2 : 0 Sunderland
Manchester United 2 : 0 Sunderland
Sunderland 1 : 1 Manchester United
Manchester United 0 : 1 Sunderland
Sunderland 1 : 2 Manchester United
All-Time Record
Manchester United wins - 58
Sunderland wins - 38
Draws - 29
The future of Louis Van Gaal is not really important right now. The most important thing is that the team gets results and the points we need. The next 3 matches will be very important, we need to reduce the gap to 4th place by the time we play West Brom on March 6th. The next three games are Sunderland, Arsenal and Watford. The Sunderland and Watford games HAVE to be wins and after dropping 2 points away to Chelsea last week, a game we should have won we will be under pressure to get a win against Arsenal as well. The top four is so congested at the moment that if you are in it you are in the title race, we are 6 points off it, those 6 points we lost in December and despite an upturn in recent results and performances (United have 11 points from the last 18 available in the league which is about par) we have still not really recovered the ground we have lost because the teams above us haven’t slipped up. The hope is that at least one of them will have a downturn, possibly when the pressure is higher. This is what Van Gaal is hoping for when the final stretch of the season comes round “It is dependable on the competitors because at the end of the competition the pressure is rising for everybody. You have to be able to cope with that pressure and Manchester United is more or less used to that pressure.” Van Gaal said when asked how many points United must earn to get back into the top four. 6 points seems daunting, but if we can get the gap down to around 3 heading into the final ten games then we still have a good possibility of getting into the top four. With the top four playing each other this weekend it is a chance to reduce the gap on at least two teams above us which is why nothing but wins will do. The players are acutely aware of this “It probably is a must-win game,” Rooney assessed, in an exclusive interview with MUTV. “We want to get into that top four again and try and push as high up the table as possible. The only way we can do that is by winning games.” No Premier League is ever as straight forward as it seems despite Sunderland’s low position in the table it won’t be an easy game. “They’re fighting for survival and obviously they have a passionate crowd so we know it’s going to be a difficult game for us.” Rooney added. The pressure is solely on us to get the result, but the increase in performance levels recently suggests the team have got a good level of confidence again. “We lost four matches in a row in December, but when you see us playing now, you can say we are mentally strong and can cope with the pressure. But that is not enough. We have to improve our consistency in terms of results and win a lot of matches in a row, because we have to reduce the gap between us and our competitors. We have to show that every week now, because the gap is so big.” Van Gaal said.
Tactically the game will be pretty straight forward. Since the change in management it’s been typical Allardyce stuff - deep defending and long balls - but it’s proved extremely effective and Sunderland have not been cut adrift down the bottom like Villa have. United will be allowed to command possession whilst Sunderland focus on remain deep and compact. This United side have struggled to break down deep defences this season, partly because they move the ball forward so slowly, giving the opposition plenty of room to get themselves back into a good defensive shape. However in recent games we have seen a trend of United having less possession and therefore more opportunity to attack with the opposition unorganised and we have seen better movement with wide players tucking inside allowing the full-backs to provide width, we have seen direct dribbling from Anthony Martial on the left and better interplay from Rooney up-front who has not only rediscovered his scoring touch, but also his actual first-touch in recent weeks. There also seems to be a better balance with Lingard on the right and Mata in central creator role. Sunderland have used a used a 5-3-2 system this season but Allardyce has reverted back to a 4-man defence in recent matches. Whatever system they deploy they are mainly about being solid in central area’s with the immobile centre-backs protected by three solid central midfielders Cattermole, M’Villa and Kirchoff. It’s unlikely United will find much space through the centre and will need to play with attacking width. This width will come from deep. Lingard and Martial like to drift into central positions, Lingard acts as an extra central midfielder at times, while Anthony Martial likes to cut inside from the left before shooting powerfully with right foot, the Frenchman’s trademark move. This means full-back duo Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Matteo Darmian who were both excellent last week against Chelsea, can take up aggressive starting positions and time their overlaps at the perfect moments and provide dangerous crosses. Borthwick-Jackson has proved particularly effective at this in recent games against Stoke and Chelsea.
In midfield Sunderland shouldn’t cause United too many problems. Allardyce uses three solid players in the centre of midfield. Yann M’Vila is a hugely talented defensive midfielder who can also move forward in possession and knock good passes out wide, while Lee Cattermole offers something similar to his left. Both are somewhat indisciplined, however. Then there is Jan Kirchoff who effectively plays as a 3rd centre-back. Sunderland offer plenty of solidity, but little guile in this area. The return of Michael Carrick in United’s midfield has been another reason we have seen an improvement in United’s play and like last week he should have plenty of time to dictate our play from deep. Sunderland’s attacking play lacks quality although January signing Khazri is a playmaker of unknown quality who has been signed to provide some creativity, he is a player United will need to watch. He is likely to be fielded out wide but drift inside to create chances for Jermain Defoe. Defore remains a deadly penalty box poacher as he proved at Anfield last week and United will need to mark him closely in the penalty area.
Subs - Romero, McNair, Schneiderlin, Herrera, A Pereria, Memphis, Keane.
I wouldn't make any changes to the starting line-up. I know most fans don't want Fellani in the side, but he has done little wrong in recent games and is useful when defending set-plays which is something Sunderland will want to try an exploit. On the bench Will Keane performances surely merit a place on the bench. He is clearly far too good for U21 level.
