Man U vs. Sunderland
Venue: Old Trafford
Kick off: 3pm
Manchester United go into their Premier League encounter with Sunderland on Saturday (today) looking to register their eighth win from 11 attempts in all competitions.
As for Sunderland, they travel to Old Trafford at the foot of the table after earning just two points from their first six top-flight fixtures.
During the early weeks of the season, much was made of Manchester United’s lack of a cutting edge in the final third of the pitch, but since the international break, 10 goals from four fixtures seem to show that Louis van Gaal is close to finding the right formula at Old Trafford.
There are still concerns regarding a defence that has been weakened by the horrific injury to left-back, Luke Shaw, but United are beginning to get it right from an attacking perspective, partly due to the impact of Anthony Martial, who was signed from AS Monaco for £36 million.
After his stunning effort against Liverpool, the young Frenchman has followed up that strike with three more against Southampton and Ipswich Town.
And Saturday’s match could see him become the first United player to score in his first three Premier League matches for the club.
Van Gaal will also hope that the 19-year-old can bring the best out of Wayne Rooney and Memphis Depay, who have both struggled during the opening six games of the campaign, while the onus is on Juan Mata to continue his productive displays since August 8.
United are far from the finished article, but with a fixture at home to the worst team in the league, they have the opportunity to keep the pressure on neighbours, Manchester City, and a fifth victory in seven games may see them create breathing space between themselves and the chasing pack.
After witnessing Sunderland gain a point at Aston Villa and impress against Tottenham Hotspur, albeit in a narrow defeat, boss Dick Advocaat must have believed that his floundering team had began to turn a corner.
However, their latest setbacks against Bournemouth and Manchester City have only heaped further pressure on the experienced Dutch coach ahead of the trip to Old Trafford, which has come at the wrong time.
Manchester United possible starting lineup: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Blind, Darmian, Carrick, Schneiderlin, Mata, Memphis, Rooney, Martial.
Sunderland possible starting lineup: Pantilimon; Yedlin, Kaboul, Coates, van Aanholt; M’Vila, Cattermole; Toivonen, Lens, Larsson; Borini.