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Five seasons ago, most bookies would have passed on a Manchester United vs Norwich encounter at Old Trafford as a routine victory by a 2-goal or 3-goal margin for the home side. However, those times have long gone, and Manchester United are no longer in a position to guarantee themselves an easy 3 points, given the situation they find themselves in.
A forgettable week first saw the 20 time League champions crash out of the Champions League owing to a 3-2 defeat at Wolfsburg. Four days later, they suffered an unforgivable 2-1 defeat to Premier League’s new boys Bournemouth, who were rooted to the foot of the Football League following administration in 2008.
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A winless run now stands at 5 games in all competitions. Irate fans are progressively making their displeasure known to Louis van Gaal over the team’s performances- stating the lack of attacking intent as the ‘non – Man United’ way of approaching fixtures.
Injuries to key players aren’t doing any good to ease the tension enveloping Old Trafford. Can Louis van Gaal get his depleted side back to winning ways against the Canaries on Saturday?
Kick-Off and Live Telecast
Channel: Star Sports 1
Live Stream: www.starsports.com
Kick-Off: Saturday, 19th December – 2030 IST (1500 BST)
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester
Team News
Manchester United
Club captain Wayne Rooney is set to make his 500th Manchester United appearance following a recovery from an ankle injury he sustained in the 1-1 draw against Leicester.
Midfielders Ander Herrera and Ashley Young are also expected to make a comeback from their respective injuries, but Bastian Schweinsteiger is banned and Chris Smalling is still doubtful with a foot injury. Matteo Darmian, Antonio Valencia, Jesse Lingard, Marcos Rojo and Luke Shaw are definitely out with long-term injuries.
Norwich City
Alex Neil’s side have no new injury concerns for their trip to Old Trafford, with Liverpool loanee Andre Wisdom remaining on the sidelines. Declan Rudd is expected to continue in goal following an impressive string of performances while Matt Jarvis is back to the training ground but may find this game arriving too soon for him to feature in.
Predicted Starting XI
Manchester United: De Gea, Borthwick-Jackson, Blind, Jones, Varela, Schneiderlin, Carrick, Martial, Memphis, Mata, Rooney
Norwich City: Rudd, Olsson, Bassong, Bennett, Whittaker, Dorrans, Tettey, Brady, Hoolahan, Redmond, Jerome
Team Form
Manchester United
Man United return to Old Trafford following a game where they found themselves on the wrong end of a major upset, losing 2-1 to the Premier League’s so-called ‘whipping-boys’ Bournemouth, a result which saw them lose ground in the title race – currently sitting 6 points behind table-toppers Leicester.
The loss of several players to injury has given manager Louis van Gaal plenty of selection headaches, but if any positives could be taken from the Cherries game, it could’ve been the performances of their two full-backs, both making their full debuts for the club.
Guillermo Varela and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson’s displays received many positive reviews from pundits thanks to their high energy levels running down the flanks and stamina to last a full 90-minute game. With most senior full-backs still sidelined via. injury, Van Gaal will once again bank on the duo to come up with the goods at Old Trafford on Saturday,
Last 5 games (All Competitions): L-L-D-D-D (Most Recent: Bournemouth 2-1 Man United)
Norwich City
Alex Neil’s men are on a poor run of form at the moment but managed to recover from a first-half thrashing against Everton to gain a point in a 1-1 draw at Carrow Road. Scoring goals has been a problem for the Canaries all season, and their lack of a quality Premier League striker has definitely hampered their chances of getting a positive run of results.
Forward Lewis Grabban has struggled to break open opposition defences, and wingers Robbie Brady and Nathan Redmond have somewhat petered off in intensity down the flanks after their impressive starts to the season.
The only sparkling aspect in the Norwich squad is the form of Wes Hoolahan through the middle. The attacking midfielder has been instrumental in creating goal-scoring opportunities – however few they may be – with his positive approaches into the opposition penalty area and some incisive through balls. His performance will be critical in deciding whether Norwich can get anything out of Old Trafford, which, on paper, looks highly unlikely.
Last 5 games(All Competitions): D-L-D-L-W (Most Recent: Norwich 1-1 Everton)
Key Stats
Head-to-Head
- Man United have won the last 3 home fixtures against Norwich City by a 4-0 scoreline.
- The Canaries have won just 2 of their last 18 League games against Louis van Gaal’s men and haven’t won at Old Trafford since August 1989.
Manchester United
- Man United are winless in their last 5 fixtures in all competitions (D3, L2).
- They have failed to score in 4 out of their last 6 games at Old Trafford in all competitions.
- They have conceded just once in the league at home all season. (Man United 3-1 Liverpool).
- Wayne Rooney is set to make his 500th United appearance if he is involved against Alex Neil’s side.
Norwich City
- The Canaries have won just one of their last 11 league games. (D4, L6)
- They have kept just one clean sheet all season.
- The Canaries have conceded 18 goals away from Carrow Road. Only Sunderland and Newcastle have shipped more on their travels this season.
Key Battles
Guillermo Varela vs Robbie Brady
With the inexperienced Guillermo Varela set to make another start following injuries to Matteo Darmian and Antonio Valencia, left-winger Robbie Brady can sense this opportunity to exploit the potential spaces the former Real Madrid Castilla loanee will tend to leave around the bye-line.
Norwich aren’t going to get many shots at goal against a side who have conceded only once in the league at home all season, but Brady must use his pace to outsmart an apparent weak-link in Varela and deliver good quality crosses into the box for the forwards to feed upon.
Betting Odds
Manchester United- 4/9
Draw- 15/4
Norwich City- 7/1
Prediction
Though United are struggling for good results at the moment, their home record is still pretty solid, and Norwich are not the best team in the league when it comes to threatening as an attacking unit. With a couple of players returning from injury, Louis van Gaal’s men are fully expected to return to winning ways – along with a clean sheet – on Saturday evening.
Man United 2-0 Norwich
