"Manchester United Stunned by Bournemouth in 3-0 Premier League Upset"

In a surprising turn of events, Manchester United suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat at the hands of AFC Bournemouth in today's Premier League clash. The visitors capitalized on an early lead and maintained control throughout the match, leaving the Reds struggling to recover.

The game started on a sour note for Manchester United as Dominic Solanke's clinical finish in the fifth minute gave Bournemouth an early advantage. Despite Harry Maguire's attempts to equalize with a towering header, the Reds were thwarted by Bournemouth's goalkeeper Neto.

Bournemouth's Marcus Tavernier had a golden opportunity to double the lead in the 15th minute, but his effort was comfortably saved by United's goalkeeper Andre Onana. A potential second goal was disallowed as Tavernier and Solanke were flagged offside.

Solanke came close to extending the lead before halftime, with his shot hitting the post and being denied by a last-ditch Maguire challenge. However, the Cherries continued to press forward.

The second half saw Manchester United attempting to mount a comeback, but Bournemouth's resilient defense blocked several attempts. Diogo Dalot missed a chance to level the score, and Bournemouth capitalized on United's defensive lapse with Philip Billing's towering header adding a second goal.

The Reds' misery continued when Marcos Senesi scored Bournemouth's third from a straightforward corner, leaving Onana stranded. Despite their efforts, Manchester United failed to create clear-cut chances to trouble Bournemouth's goalkeeper Neto.

The defeat leaves Manchester United facing a tough challenge ahead, with a midweek clash against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League, where qualification hangs in the balance. Manager Erik ten Hag will need to regroup and strategize to bounce back from this unexpected setback.

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Manchester City VS Manchester United

MANCHESTER CITY 0 MANCHESTER UNITED 0

Premier League | 27 April 2017 | Etihad Stadium | Attendance: 54,176

It was honours even in Thursday night’s Manchester derby as United held firm to claim a vital point against City at the Etihad Stadium, despite being reduced to 10 men late on.

The Blues dominated what was, at times, a fiery game and the Reds were forced to play the final 10 minutes of normal and added time after Marouane Fellaini was dismissed for a clash with Sergio Aguero.

The result leaves the Manchester rivals still well-placed in the race for a top-four finish, with both sides hot on the heels of Liverpool having played a game less than the Merseysiders.

Mourinho made four changes to the side which won so comfortably away at Burnley four days earlier with Antonio Valencia, Michael Carrick, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marcus Rashford coming in for Ashley Young, Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Wayne Rooney.

United were on the attack from the off with the front three of Mkhitaryan, Rashford and Anthony Martial interchanging nicely, but it was City who had the first clear-cut chance when Kevin De Bruyne got in down the right on nine minutes. His low cross found the menacing Sergio Aguero who struck the outside of the post with his shot.

At the other end, the pace of Rashford and Martial kept the City defenders on their toes and a cross from Martial on 25 minutes almost led to the opener for the Reds. Claudio Bravo could only palm the centre into the path of Mkhitaryan, but the City goalkeeper recovered to block the Armenian’s shot.

Despite Eric Bailly being in imperious form at the heart of United’s backline, David De Gea was the busier of the two keepers in the first period and he dealt well with long-range efforts from Aguero and Aleksandar Kolarov as half-time drew closer.

Arguably the best opportunity of the half fell to the lively Ander Herrera when he rose unmarked to meet a Rashford free-kick at the back post, but the Spaniard found the wrong side of the post with his header.

HALF-TIME STATSPossession: City 63% United 37%
Shots: City 10 United 2
Shots on target: City 3 United 1
Corners: City 3 United 3

City were the brighter side after the break with Aguero and Sterling both having early sighters. The Blues’ possession count and shots from distance increased as the clock ticked towards the hour-mark, but the Reds held firm at the back.

A Nicolas Otamendi header from a corner deflected off Bailly and just over the bar as City continued to put United under pressure.

An injury to Bravo resulted in a change in goal for City as Willy Cabellero came on in the 79th minute. Jesus Navas also entered the fray and the Reds followed suit with a switch as Martial made way for Lingard.

There was another change to the on-pitch personnel five minutes from time, but it was of an unwanted kind for the Reds as Fellaini, a minute after being booked for a foul on Aguero, received his marching orders after squaring up to the same player.

Mkhitaryan was sacrificed from the attack as Mourinho’s men looked to shore up for a point by bringing on young defender Tim Fosu-Mensah. Six minutes of injury time followed as did a disallowed goal from Gabriel Jesus who headed home from an offside position much to United's relief.

The draw leaves the two sides a point apart in the table – City in fourth place and United in fifth - after playing the same number of matches. Both have a game in hand on third-placed Liverpool who lie a point above the Blues. It remains all to play for in the race for a top-four spot in the Premier League.

FULL-TIME STATS
Possession: City 69% United 31%
Shots: City 19 United 3
Shots on target: City 6 United 1
Corners: City 7 United 4

TEAMS

Manchester City: Bravo (Caballero 79), Zabaleta, Kompany (c), Otamendi, Kolarov, Fernandinho, Yaya Toure, Sterling (Jesus 86), De Bruyne, Sane (Navas 80), Aguero.

Subs not used: Sagna, Fernando, Clichy, A. Garcia.

Booked: Jesus

United: De Gea; Valencia, Bailly, Blind, Darmian; Carrick (c), Fellaini, Herrera; Mkhitaryan (Fosu-Mensah 85), Rashford (Young 90+3), Martial (Lingard 80).

Subs not used: Romero, Shaw, Tuanzebe, Rooney.

Sent off: Fellaini

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Man Utd Vs AFC Bournemouth

MANCHESTER UNITED 3
BOURNEMOUTH 1

Barclays Premier League | 17 May 2016 | Old Trafford
| Scorers: Rooney 43', Rashford 74', Young 87';
Smalling o.g 90'

Two days later than planned, Manchester United
signed off for the 2015/16 Barclays Premier
League season with a comfortable 3-1 victory over
Bournemouth at Old Trafford.

The Reds knew a point would guarantee entry into
the Europa League group stages and avoid a
qualifying tie in July, and goals from Wayne
Rooney, Marcus Rashford and Ashley Young
ensured it was mission accomplished in that sense.
Of course, this match should have been played 48
hours earlier after Sunday’s security alert had
forced the initial fixture's abandonment and that
had an impact on the crowd inside Old Trafford
with not everyone who was here on Sunday able to
make the rearranged meeting. It was the same XI
for United that was due to start the original match
though, with Marcos Rojo and Matteo Darmian
missing out through injury and illness ruling out
Morgan Schneiderlin.

Before kick-off, David De Gea was presented with
the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award but
neither the Spaniard or his opposite number Adam
Federici had much to do in a quiet opening quarter
of the match.

The best attack of the first period came just after
the half-hour mark when a Rooney free-kick found
an unmarked Michael Carrick in the area, but the
midfielder was unable to make enough contact on
it to trouble Federici.

The Cherries had half a chance eight minutes
before the break when a low cross found Marc
Pugh in the box, but his goalbound effort was well
blocked by Antonio Valencia.

With two minutes left on the clock, the best move
of the first period led to the first goal and Rooney's
100th Old Trafford strike in the Premier League.
The captain started the fine move with a pass out
to the left wing. A neat one-two between Juan
Mata and Anthony Martial led to the latter crossing
for Rooney who, after a nice dummy from Rashford,
slotted home from close range.

HALF-TIME STATISTICS
Possession : United 65% Bournemouth 35%
Shots: United 2 Bournemouth 2
Shots on target: United 1 Bournemouth 0
Corners: United 3 Bournemouth 0

The Cherries were quick out of the blocks after the
restart with Callum Wilson seeing a shot blocked by
Smalling and Dan Gosling firing over, but United
should have had a penalty on 50 minutes when
Mata was clearly tripped by Steve Cook when put
through by Martial, but referee Jonathan Moss
surprisingly waved away the appeals.

The Reds went close to a second goal on 54
minutes when a belting Carrick drive deflected off
Tommy Elphick and onto the bar, with Martial
unable to pounce on the rebound.

After very little goalmouth action in the first 45,
United had upped the attacking threat and the
chances kept coming. Rashford's weaving run led
to a blocked effort from Mata and a deflected shot
just off target from Lingard. The resulting corner
eventually dropped to Valencia who saw a
blistering 35-yard piledriver superbly tipped over by
Federici. Smalling and Mata fashioned further
efforts but the score remained 1-0.

The advantage was finally doubled 16 minutes from
time, however, when that man Rashford fired his
eighth goal in 17 games. Rooney's pinged pass
found the head of Valencia who cushioned the ball
to Rashford to sweep home brilliantly in front of
the Stretford End.

Young came off the bench to take the place of
Martial up front and duly found the net with three
minutes left after being put through by the
excellent Rooney; it was Young's first goal since
United beat Manchester City 4-2 in April 2015.

Despite an unfortunate injury-time own goal by
Smalling, it proved to be a routine victory for the
Reds who took part in a lap of appreciation after
the final whistle to thank the Old Trafford faithful
for their support all season. Now for Wembley!

FULL-TIME STATISTICS
Possession: United 67% Bournemouth 33%
Shots: United 12 Bournemouth 7
Shots on target: United 5 Bournemouth 0
Corners: United 7 Bournemouth 1

TEAMS
United: De Gea; Valencia, Smalling, Blind,
Borthwick-Jackson; Carrick, Rooney, Lingard, Mata
(Herrera 75), Martial (Young 83), Rashford
(Memphis 78).
Subs not used: Romero, Varela, Jones, A.Pereira.
Booked: Mata

Bournemouth: Federici; Francis, Elphick, Cook,
Daniels; Ritchie, Gosling, Surman, Pugh (Afobe 67);
King (Gradel 67), Wilson (Grabban 79).

Subs not used (only six in total) : Holmes, Jordan,
O'Kane.

MATCH REACTION
"In the first half we played slow. I said that at half-
time. In the second half we found pockets. The
wingers were more outside so the pitch was
bigger. It's difficult to guard that space then for
the opponent, and that we did very well. We have
scored brilliant goals." - Louis van Gaal

"It was a difficult game after what happened on
Sunday and with the cup final being on Saturday,
but we went out and did a professional job. We
played some nice stuff and deserved to win." -
Wayne Rooney

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Norwich Vs Man Utd

NORWICH CITY 0 MANCHESTER
UNITED 1

Barclays Premier League | 7 May 2016 | Carrow Road
| Attendance: 27,132 | Scorer: Mata 72'

Manchester United applied pressure on neighbours
City ahead of the Blues' clash with Arsenal on
Sunday thanks to a narrow 1-0 win at Norwich
City.

Juan Mata scored the only goal of the match to
boost the Reds' hopes of qualifying for the
Champions League but compounded the Canaries'
relegation worries.

Despite the importance of the game for both
teams, it was the most low key of opening halves
with precious few moments of excitement. Perhaps
the loss of Anthony Martial in the warm-up, with
the injured Frenchman replaced by midfielder
Ander Herrera, blunted the Reds' attack and Louis
van Gaal's team was further depleted when Matteo
Darmian was forced off on a stretcher early on.
Daley Blind and Marcus Rashford were already
rested for the clash and not included the squad.

There was a clear opportunity as early as the
fourth minute as Cameron Jerome could only steer
a header against David De Gea's knees from point-
blank range following a cross by Nathan Redmond.

However, this failed to set the tone for a
disappointing period as United struggled to make
any headway towards John Ruddy's goal.
A first attempt on goal for the visitors arrived on 29
minutes, when Chris Smalling nodded over Mata's
corner after climbing above Jerome, and it was
followed with the only United shot on target of the
first half, a Jesse Lingard attempt bent tamely into
Ruddy's arms.
Memphis Depay's free-kick straight into the wall
summed up the frustration and the first 45 minutes
dwindled to a close despite three minutes of
stoppage time being played.

STATISTICS AT HALF-TIME
Possession: Norwich 38% United 62%
Shots at goal: Norwich 3 United 8
Shots on target: Norwich 1 United 1
Corners: Norwich 1 United 3

Herrera slipped as he volleyed a penetrative pass
from Mata wide as van Gaal's men started the
second period with more thrust, without testing
Ruddy. Norwich did manage sights of goal as Gary
O'Neil sliced a speculative shot wide and Jerome
mistimed a header before the breakthrough arrived
at the other end with 18 minutes left.

Antonio Valencia's ball over the top was misjudged
by Sebastien Bassong and Rooney advanced
towards goal. The captain had to check inside both
Russell Martin and Bassong but had the presence
of mind to lay the ball into the path of Mata, who
arrived on cue to steer home a side-footed finish.

Jerome sent another header wide but substitute
Morgan Schneiderlin should have made the points
safe on 85 minutes, instead firing wide after being
sent clear by Rooney's precise pass. Memphis
curled a free-kick just the wrong side of Ruddy's
right-hand post and Herrera fired over in stoppage
time as the visitors remained in control. The hard-
fought success may not have been pretty but it
means United will head to West Ham on Tuesday
will all still to play for in the race for a top-four
slot.

STATISTICS AT FULL-TIME
Possession: Norwich 33% United 67%
Shots at goal: Norwich 8 United 14
Shots on target: Norwich 2 United 2
Corners: Norwich 1 United 6

THE TEAMS
United: De Gea; Valencia, Smalling, Rojo, Darmian
(Borthwick-Jackson 12); Carrick (Fosu-Mensah
88), Herrera; Mata, Lingard (Schneiderlin 78),
Memphis; Rooney.
Subs not used: Romero, McNair, Januzaj.

Norwich: Ruddy; Pinto, Martin, Bassong, Olsson;
Redmond, Howson (Dorrans 78), O'Neil, Brady
(Mbokani 63); Hoolahan; Jerome (Bamford 78).
Subs not used: Rudd, Whittaker, Jarvis, Naismith.
Booked: O'Neil.

MATCH REACTION
"It's so important that we are still in business and
we keep in business by keeping the pressure on
our competitors. I'm very happy. I'm, more or less,
a Gunners fan tomorrow!" - Louis van Gaal

"The fans have had a difficult season - hopefully
we can get in the top four and win the FA Cup for
them." - Juan Mata

"We will recover on Sunday and hopefully City v
Arsenal will go in our favour. Then it's down to us."
- Chris Smalling

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Man Utd Vs Leicester City

MANCHESTER UNITED 1
LEICESTER CITY 1
Barclays Premier League | Old Trafford | Attendance:
75,275 | Scorers: Martial 8', Morgan 17'

Manchester United and Leicester City played out
an enthralling 1-1 draw that was punctuated with
entertainment, passion and drama, yet the result
was not truly desired by either club.

Anthony Martial and Wes Morgan scored first-half
goals in the stalemate that mirrors November's
meeting at the King Power Stadium, providing a
blow to the Reds’ hopes of finishing in the Barclays
Premier League top four with just three matches
left to play. The Foxes could also have won the
title at Old Trafford had they secured a victory,
although their champagne remains on ice for the
time being.

The magnitude of this fixture given Leicester’s
potential title triumph was reflected inside the
stadium, with dozens of media crews from around
the world in attendance to report on what is
arguably the biggest story in sport.

Former England
manager Fabio Capello was among the onlookers,
working for Italian television, while the director’s
box also accommodated a heavily-bearded club
legend in Eric Cantona. There was even a rock star,
with Kasabian guitarist and Foxes fan Sergio
Pizzorno sitting among the fans for this much-
discussed game.

Louis van Gaal had told his players prior to kick-off
that they “cannot allow” Leicester to win the title
at Old Trafford and the Reds were clearly in no
mood to host a coronation, judging by the bright
start that led to the deadlock being broken on eight
minutes. The goal came from Anthony Martial, who
met Antonio Valencia’s cross to execute a low
near-post finish past Kasper Schmeichel. It was
the 20-year-old’s 15th strike of the season and that
means he is now United’s top scorer this season.

Leicester displayed their famed team sprit by
bouncing back quickly, as captain Wes Morgan lost
his marker Marcos Rojo to head Danny Drinkwater’s
lofted free-kick past David De Gea from close
range on 17 minutes, much to the delight and thrill
of the 3,000 travelling supporters in the away end.

There were further chances for both teams before
half-time, with Jesse Lingard and Marouane Fellaini
both forcing saves from Schmeichel, and Jeffrey
Schlupp hitting a deflected effort wide of goal
following a neat pass from Riyad Mahrez.
The
recently anointed PFA Player of the Year could and
perhaps should have won a penalty, too, when he
was upended by Marcos Rojo on 39 minutes.

STATISTICS AT HALF-TIME
Possession: United 71% Leicester 29%
Shots at goal: United 11 Leicester 5
Shots on target: United 3 Leicester 1
Corners: United 4 Leicester 2

The second half began with the physically-imposing
Morgan beating Rojo in the air once more to head
straight at De Gea, before Martial arched a right-
footed effort over the bar moments later. Ex-Reds
defender Danny Simpson then watched his
deflected cross roll across the six-yard area on 51
minutes, with his Japanese team-team Shinji
Okazaki unable to divert it into the net.

A flurry of yellow cards were then distributed to
Lingard, Michael Carrick and the industrious Danny
Drinkwater, another former United man, as the
match became a scrappy affair with both sides
jostling for dominance. A spark of creativity was
required and, perhaps with that in mind, van Gaal
sent substitute Juan Mata onto the field on 61
minutes to register his 100th Reds appearance.

United pushed forward and Fellaini soon saw a
header bounce wide of goal from Blind’s corner,
before the undeniably gifted Mahrez stung the
palms of De Gea with a rasping effort from 20
yards. With 78 minutes on the clock and the match
approaching its final act, Chris Smalling then rose
to meet Wayne Rooney’s cross from midfield to
head onto the outside of Schmeichel’s left-hand
post.

Drinkwater was sent off for a second bookable
offence on 87 minutes, after dragging back
substitute Memphis on the edge of the penalty
area, and Schmeichel was forced to make a fine
save to deny Rooney from the resulting free-kick.
Seconds later, the son of Peter Schmeichel
frustrated the United captain again by catching his
curling strike from around 25 yards, wrapping up a
lively encounter at Old Trafford.

STATISTICS AT FULL-TIME
Possession: United 70% Leicester 30%
Shots at goal: United 21 Leicester 14
Shots on target: United 6 Leicester 3
Corners: United 6 Leicester 5

THE TEAMS
United: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Blind, Rojo,
Carrick, Fellaini (Herrera 75'), Lingard (Mata 61'),
Rooney, Martial, Rashford (Memphis 82').
Subs not used: Romero, Fosu-Mensah, Darmian,
Schneiderlin.
Booked: Lingard, Carrick, Rooney

Leicester: Schmeichel, Simpson, Huth, Morgan,
Fuchs, Mahrez (King 88'), Kanté, Drinkwater,
Schlupp (Albrighton 77'), Okazaki (Gray 67'), Ulloa.
Subs not used: Amartey, Wasilewski, Chilwell,
Schwarzer.
Sent off: Drinkwater.

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Man Utd Vs Crystal Palace

MANCHESTER UNITED 2 CRYSTAL
PALACE 0

Barclays Premier League | 20 April 2016 | Old
Trafford | Att: 75,277 | Scorer: Delaney OG 4',
Darmian 55'

Manchester United closed the gap on top-four
rivals Arsenal and Manchester City with a routine
2-0 win over Crystal Palace, providing a timely
morale boost ahead of Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup
semi-final at Wembley.

The victory – secured via a Damien Delaney own
goal and Matteo Darmian volley – leaves the Reds
just a point behind the Gunners ahead of their
game-in-hand against West Bromwich Albion on
Thursday, with Manuel Pellegrini’s Blues two points
ahead after their draw at Newcastle earlier in the
week.

Louis van Gaal made three changes to his starting
XI from the preceding win over Aston Villa by
recalling Matteo Darmian, Jesse Lingard and
Anthony Martial in a 4-3-3 formation, with Wayne
Rooney playing in midfield alongside Morgan
Schneiderlin and Juan Mata.

The captain was deployed in a deeper role behind
in-form Marcus Rashford and it was the 18-year-
old’s back-heeled pass to Darmian that led to
United breaking the deadlock on four minutes,
when the Italian's left-wing cross was accidentally
diverted into the net by Eagles defender Delaney.

Martial, Rooney, Rashford and Lingard all went
close to scoring with first-half efforts, with Julian
Speroni producing solid saves on each occasion,
but in truth the opening 45 minutes lacked tempo
and cutting edge, particularly with Palace being so
willing to sit back. Alan Pardew’s players possibly
had Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Watford on
their minds, rather than Premier League points.
STATS AT HALF-TIME
Possession: United 62% Crystal Palace 38%
Shots at goal: United 7 Crystal Palace 2
Shots at target: United 6 Crystal Palace 0
Corners: United 3 Crystal Palace 2

The second half began in a familiar manner as van
Gaal's men attacked an Eagles defence that was
more than willing to sit back and soak up pressure,
and Rooney almost doubled the advantage straight
away when his low drive from the edge of the area
was diverted away from goal by Souare.
Despite that early miss, United's second goal duly
arrived soon after 55 minutes - although it came
from the left boot of an unfamiliar scorer, as
industrious left-back Darmian latched on to
Delaney’s headed clearance to chest the ball down
and execute a superb volley that soared into the
net, after clipping the post, in front of the Stretford
End.

Lingard and Rashford both forced excellent saves
from Speroni in quick succession on 62 minutes,
just moments before the latter was replaced by
Memphis Depay to a standing ovation from the Old
Trafford crowd. His young team-mate Jesse was
then taken off shortly afterwards, with Wembley
possibly in mind.

Van Gaal made his third and final change on 78
minutes as Rooney depatured the action to plenty
of acclaim from the supporters, following a solid
performance in midfield that should book his
starting place against his boyhood club Everton at
Wembley. One cause for concern, however, was
the sight of a hobbling Chris Smalling after the
centre-back flew into a 50/50 challenge during the
closing stages, although the centre-back confirmed
afterwards that he was fine.

While this match was by no means a classic,
United's performance was undeniably professional
and the result could yet prove to be decisive in the
race for UEFA Champions League qualification.

STATS AT FULL-TIME
Possession : United 66% Crystal Palace 34%
Shots at goal : United 16 Crystal Palace 5
Shots on target: United 10 Crystal Palace 0
Corners: United 10 Crystal Palace 2
THE TEAMS

United: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Blind, Darmian,
Lingard (Herrera 73'), Schneiderlin, Mata, Rooney
(Fellaini 78'), Rashford (Memphis 64'), Martial.
Subs not used: Romero, Fosu-Mensah, Rojo, Young.
Booked: Darmian

Crystal Palace: Speroni, Kelly, Mariappa, Delaney,
Souare, Jedinak, Cabaye (McArthur 66'), Lee
(Mutch 60'), Zaha, Sako, Adebayor (Wickham 75').
Subs not used: Dreher, McArthur, Puncheon,
Campbell.
Booked: Kelly, Souare

REACTION
"I was very happy with the performance and I think
it was a four or five to zero game. We should have
finished it much earlier and scored much more
goals. We are still in the race [for the top four]." -
Louis van Gaal

"I think we've done exactly what we've needed to
do, and it's about having City and Arsenal looking
over their shoulder, and we've put a bit more
pressure on." - Chris Smalling

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Man Utd VS Aston Villa

MANCHESTER UNITED 1 ASTON
VILLA 0
Barclays Premier League | 16 April 2016 | Old
Trafford | Attendance: 75,411 | Scorer: Rashford 32'

Manchester United applied pressure to fourth-
placed rivals Manchester City with a 1-0 victory
over Aston Villa, courtesy of Marcus Rashford's
first-half strike.

Louis van Gaal made five changes to the XI that
started at West Ham in midweek but the match
lacked any real intensity, even if defeat confirmed
the Midlanders' inevitable relegation to the
Championship.

After Jordan Ayew skied the game's first attempt,
Marcos Rojo's header over the top from Memphis
Depay's near-post free-kick registered the Reds'
opening gambit on 10 minutes. The hosts adopted
a steady approach and, from one of many patient
build-ups, Joleon Lescott produced a nervous
clearance behind his own goal from a Rashford
centre.

Juan Mata jinked into a dangerous position, only
for his shot to find touch, while ex-Red Kieran
Richardson also produced a wayward effort when
Marouane Fellaini's header clear fell to him. The
brightest moment of the half came on 32 minutes
as Rooney was fouled by Lescott in midfield. The
captain drilled the set-piece to the overlapping
Antonio Valencia and when the right-back's cross
arrived in the middle, Rashford supplied a predatory
finish past Brad Guzan for his seventh goal in 12
games.

Guzan then comfortably dealt with a cross-shot
from Rooney and a heavily-deflected Memphis free-
kick as Villa remained in the game when the half-
time whistle sounded, despite failing to show too
much attacking ambition.

HALF-TIME STATISTICS
Possession : United 67% Villa 33%
Shots at goal : United 7 Villa 3
Shots on target: United 2 Villa 0
Corners: United 9 Villa 0

With Memphis more involved, United searched for a
second strike to effectively make the points safe
but Rashford was unable to profit when twice put
through by Mata, firstly being hustled out of his
stride by Alan Hutton and then dragging his finish
wide.

Memphis bent a drive off target and had a free-kick
that failed to trouble Guzan, while Mata forced a
stop out of the keeper following Daley Blind's
clever corner. Guzan also escaped a goalmouth
scramble when Fellaini challenged him but referee
Kevin Friend deemed no offence to have been
committed.

Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial replaced
Rooney and Rashford but United failed to show the
necessary devilment to breach the visiting defence
again. With seven minutes left, Blind and
Schneiderlin managed to prevent substitute Rudy
Gestede tapping in an Ayew pass. Suddenly, Villa
sensed a goal with Gestede hitting a post from
Ashley Westwood's corner and, from the following
set-piece by the midfielder, Ciaran Clark forced a
diving save out of the otherwise largely
unemployed David De Gea.
Gestede, a real threat in the air, also sent a header
over the top while Memphis was close to wrapping
things up in stoppage time when Guzan touched his
shot onto a post, from Martial's incisive through
ball.

FULL-TIME STATISTICS
Possession: United 66% Villa 34%
Shots at goal: United 13 Villa 6
Shots on target: United 4 Villa 1
Corners: United 14 Villa 3

TEAMS
United: De Gea; Valencia, Smalling, Blind, Rojo;
Schneiderlin, Fellaini; Mata (Fosu-Mensah 89),
Rooney (Lingard 66), Memphis; Rashford (Martial
76).
Subs not used: Romero, Darmian, McNair, Young.

Aston Villa: Guzan; Hutton, Clark, Lescott,
Cissokho; Westwood, Gueye; Bacuna, Sinclair,
Richardson (Gestede 82); Ayew.
Subs not used: Bunn, Richards, Sanchez, Gil, Lyden,
Grealish.
Booked: Richardson.

REACTION
"It was not our best performance, of course, you
have seen it for yourself. I think we played too
slowly and it was also difficult as they were playing
very defensively and very compact. But we have
three points and that is the most important thing
at this stage." - Louis van Gaal

"Maybe fans and the media took the win for
granted and we never do this. In the Premier
League it doesn’t matter if the team is at the top
or the bottom of the table, it is always difficult. A
win is a win, and in our race to get into the
Champions League position, it was important to do
that." - Juan Mata

"We've defended really well this season and we
need to continue until the last game and hopefully
we will be in the top four. We need to win our
games and wait for the rest of the teams. We will
see in the end." - David De Gea

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Spurs Vs Man Utd

MATCH REPORT: TOTTENHAM 3
UNITED 0
Barclays Premier League | 10 April 2016 | White Hart
Lane | Attendance: 35,761 | Scorers: Alli 70,
Alderweireld 74, Lamela 76

Tottenham Hotspur scored three times inside six
second-half minutes to inflict a 3-0 defeat on
Manchester United, leaving the Reds four points
shy of the Barclays Premier League top four.
Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld and Erik Lamela scored
the quickfire goals in devastating fashion to secure
Spurs' first win over United at White Hart Lane in
15 matches, since a 3-1 triumph in May, 2001. The
result means qualification to next season’s UEFA
Champions League looks a tall order for Louis van
Gaal's men with only six top-flight matches left to
play this season. “It is not the weekend we
wanted," conceded a disappointed Michael Carrick
afterwards. "But there are a few weekends left
yet."

Kick-off at White Hart Lane was delayed by 30
minutes due to United’s team bus being stuck in
traffic and that meant the Reds had to complete a
much shorter warm-up than normal, although it
didn’t appear to make an impact in the opening
exchanges of the first half. Van Gaal’s men
controlled much of the ball for 20 minutes and
registered shots at goal through Jesse Lingard and
Tim Fosu-Mensah, the impressive and powerful
Dutch youngster who was recalled to the XI in
place of Matteo Darmian.

Title-chasing Tottenham needed to win the game
following Leicester City’s 2-0 win at Sunderland
earlier in the day and Mauricio Pochettino's
men began to show their quality as the first half
ticked on, with an offside Harry Kane forcing a
point-blank save from David De Gea and Christian
Eriksen curling wide from distance, before Erik
Lamela spurned an excellent chance when his free
header bounced wide of the back post just before
the half-hour mark.

Ahead of Sunday’s outing, Spurs boasted the
Premier League’s best defensive record in terms of
goals conceded (25) and United were also top of
the division’s clean sheets table with 15, so it was
perhaps no surprise that the score remained
goalless following a competitive yet studious first
half at White Hart Lane.

FIRST-HALF STATISTICS
Possession: Tottenham 41% United 59%
Shots at goal: Tottenham 4 United 2
Shots on target: Tottenham 0 United 0
Corners: Tottenham 1 United 3

Ashley Young replaced the unusually quiet Marcus
Rashford at the beginning of the second half to
make his first senior appearance since 17 January
in the 1-0 win at Liverpool. The 30-year-old
displayed his versatility by playing as United’s sole
striker, a role that he had played to good effect for
the Under-21s against Chelsea at Old Trafford
earlier in the week.

Tottenham restarted the match with much greater
pace and De Gea was quickly forced into action to
repel two powerful shots on 50 minutes, firstly from
the lively Eriksen and then from in-form England
international Eric Dier, before the Premier League's
top scorer Kane forced another save from the
Spaniard moments later as Spurs flexed their
attacking muscles.

The game was lacking a real moment in quality
with both sides repeatedly giving the ball away,
although Anthony Martial could and perhaps should
have broken the deadlock on 62 minutes with a
superb individual effort. He cut inside from the left
wing to dribble past three markers and hit a
powerful strike that was saved by Hugo Lloris, his
captain with the French national team.
Just as United eyed a narrow win in the final third
of the match, bouyed by Martial's good work,
Tottenham floored the Reds by ruthlessly scoring
three goals in the space of six minutes. Alli
notched the first with a cool finish past De Gea
from Eriksen’s left-wing cross and Alderweireld
swiftly headed home the second from Lamela’s
pinpoint free-kick. Argentina international Lamela
then latched onto Danny Rose’s assist to complete
the match’s decisive spell by drilling past the
exposed De Gea.
That wrapped up a disappointing result in north
London that means it is now extremely difficult for
United to qualify for next season's Champions
League, with Manchester City four points ahead.
Presumably, there is now a greater emphasis on
the Reds' Emirates FA Cup campaign ahead of it a
resumption with the quarter-final replay at West
Ham in midweek.

SECOND-HALF STATISTICS
Possession: Tottenham 46% United 54%
Shots at goal: Tottenham 16 United 5
Shots on target: Tottenham 9 United 1
Corners: Tottenham 2 United 7

THE TEAMS
United: De Gea, Fosu-Mensah (Darmian 68),
Smalling, Blind, Rojo, Schneiderlin, Carrick, Mata
(Memphis 77), Lingard, Martial, Rashford (Young
46).
Subs not used: Romero, Valencia, Fellaini, Herrera.
Booked: Darmian, Memphis, Young.

Tottenham: Lloris, Walker, Alderweireld,
Vertonghen, Rose, Dier, Dembele, Lamela (Chadli
87), Eriksen, Alli (Mason 92), Kane (Son 88).
Subs not used: Vorm, Trippier, Wimmer, Carroll.
Booked: Rose, Walker, Alli.

MATCH REACTION
Louis van Gaal: “Every team can lose to everybody
so we are still in the race [for fourth] but, of
course, when you lose a game you have to close
the gap again and that is difficult.”

Michael Carrick: “I thought we did alright for an
hour or so, but the first goal was a bad one to
concede because we could have stopped that and
we could have prevented that. The second one
came so quickly after that and put us right on the
back foot. The third one meant it was game over
because there was so little time left."

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Manchester City vs Manchester Utd

REPORT: MANCHESTER CITY 0
MANCHESTER UNITED 1

Barclays Premier League | 20 March 2016 | Etihad
Stadium | Attendance: 54,557 | Scorers: Rashford
(16')

Manchester United closed the gap on rivals
Manchester City to just one point after a crucial
1-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium, courtesy of
Marcus Rashford's excellent first-half strike.

The Manchester-born striker - making his first
appearance in this fixture - produced a moment to
savour on 16 minutes, showing an incredible turn of
pace to burst into the area and slot the ball past
Joe Hart. It was a mature piece of centre-forward
play, and one which was ultimately enough to
ensure the Reds left the Etihad with all three
points.

Ahead of the game, Louis van Gaal opted to make
two changes to the side that faced Liverpool in
midweek, with Matteo Darmian and Morgan
Schneiderlin replacing Guillermo Varela and
Marouane Fellaini respectively in the starting line-
up.
While October's reverse fixture produced a closely-
contested goalless draw, both sides showed more
intent from the off this time around, as City won a
corner in the opening minute. The game's first
chance fell for the hosts shortly after, as Darmian's
defensive header fell kindly for Jesus Navas, but
the winger's first-time volley dropped narrowly
wide.
Navas was regularly involved in the early stages
and went closer with his next effort, only to be
denied by fellow countryman David De Gea. Slick
passing between Raheem Sterling and David Silva
allowed the former to dig out a deep cross, but the
United keeper got down quickly to save with his
feet.

With little over a quarter of an hour played, though,
the Blues were made to pay for their missed
opportunities. Juan Mata found space in midfield
and picked out Rashford, who left Martin
Demichelis for dead on the edge of the box,
sprinting past the defender to calmly curl the ball
home.

The Reds' youthful frontline was beginning to
impress, with Jesse Lingard proving a handful for
the much-changed Blues defence in the no.10 role.
And van Gaal's men might have added a second on
18 minutes, as Anthony Martial tested Hart with a
powerful drive.

The home side were quick to remind United of their
attacking intent at the other end, and should have
equalised when Silva's free-kick was headed wide
by Demichelis, but the Blues' goal threat suffered a
blow soon after when Sterling was forced off
through injury.

United might have been awarded a penalty just
before half-time, when Rashford appeared to be
brought down by Demichelis, but referee Michael
Oliver waved away any claims, and the Reds took
an important advantage into the break.

HALF-TIME STATISTICS
Possession: City 49% United 51%
Shots at goal: City 9 United 2
Shots on target: City 2 United 2
Corners: City 5 United 2

A first half full of incident was almost immediately
followed by a second United goal after the interval,
as Martial attempted to latch onto a short back-
pass from Demichelis, but Hart cleared the danger
just in time and suffered an injury in the process.

The goalkeeper's replacement, Willy Caballero,
might have been picking the ball out of his net
moments after coming off the bench, but produced
a fine save to deny Martial after the striker's effort
deflected towards goal.

The chance seemed to spark City into life at the
other end and, just after the hour-mark, the hosts
went close to an equaliser twice in quick
succession. First, Bacary Sagna's low cross was
almost met by substitute Wilfried Bony, but for an
excellent challenge from Chris Smalling, before
another right-wing delivery from Toure was headed
onto the woodwork by Sergio Aguero.
City were now well on top, but were struggling to
carve out any noteworthy opportunities. United,
meanwhile, soaked up the pressure expertly, and
defended a number of crosses and goal-mouth
scrambles to maintain the narrow lead.
As six minutes of added time were displayed,
United's battling display was almost cruelly undone
by Aguero, who took down Silva's diagonal ball but
pulled his shot wide, in a chance which rather
summed up City's afternoon.
Instead, the points and derby-day bragging rights
belonged to van Gaal's men, on a memorable day
for Rashford and United.

FULL-TIME STATISTICS
Possession: City 54% United 46%
Shots at goal: City 26 United 5
Shots on target: City 3 United 4
Corners: City 11 United 4

City: Hart (Caballero 50'), Sagna, Demichelis (Bony
53'), Mangala, Clichy, Fernandinho, Toure, Navas,
Sterling (Fernando 25'), Silva, Aguero.
Subs not used: Zabaleta, Kolarov, M.Garcia,
Iheanacho.
Booked: Mangala

United: De Gea, Darmian (Fosu-Mensah
82'), Smalling, Blind, Rojo (Valencia 62'),
Schneiderlin, Carrick, Lingard, Mata (Schweinsteiger
70'), Martial, Rashford.
Subs not used: Romero, Fellaini, Januzaj, Memphis.
Booked: Smalling

MATCH REACTION
"I think it is more than three points. The position
we are in the league meant it was a must win
today. We had to get the three points before the
international break to give us a boost and
something to go at when we come back." - Michael
Carrick

"When I see the dressing room, I think it shall give
a boost and real belief - it was fantastic to see. We
fight every match of course but now we have a big
result and it was a long time ago that United has
won here so it's also for the fantastic for the fans
that we have won." - Louis van Gaal

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West Brom Vs Man Utd Report

Salomon Rondon scored the only goal of the match
as West Browich Albion defeated 10-man
Manchester United 1-0, dealing a blow to the
visitors' top-four hopes.

United came into the contest buoyed by four wins in
a row in all competitions, but their task at The
Hawthorns was made tougher when Juan Mata
picked up the first Barclays Premier League red card
of his career with two quick-fire bookings in the first
half.
Louis van Gaal's side responded well to that setback
and came close to opening the scoring through
Marcus Rashford as they looked to counter West
Brom, who struggled to carve out many meaningful
chances despite their advantage.
Yet Tony Pulis' men found their breakthrough
midway through the second half thanks to Rondon's
clever finish from close range - his fourth goal in six
league matches.
Van Gaal's side pushed for an equaliser, but diligent
West Brom defending ensured the visitors remain
sixth in the table and three points behind
Manchester City in fourth, having played one more
fixture.
United, who welcomed back Chris Smalling, Matteo
Darmian and Michael Carrick to the starting line-up,
started brightly, but Craig Dawson missed the first
decent chance when he headed wide following
Rondon's teasing cross.
The home side began to look an increasing threat on
the break and from set-pieces as United laboured in
possession, with belief among the home fans
growing further when Mata was sent off for two
yellow cards picked up in the space of three minutes
- the first for blocking a quick free-kick, the second
for a late swing of his left foot to bring down former
team-mate Darren Fletcher.
United were forced on to the defensive, but, barring
a low drive from Saido Berahino which David De Gea
saved comfortably, West Brom were struggling to
make their numerical advantage count.
Indeed, it was United who next came closest to
breaking the deadlock just after half-time, as
Rashford's low shot from the edge of the area
deflected narrowly wide of Ben Foster's left-hand
post after a strong run from Anthony Martial, before
Jesse Lingard clipped the top of the net with a
looping drive from 25 yards.
Berahino stabbed substitute Sebastien Pocognoli's
cross narrowly over the crossbar, but United failed
to heed the warning as the full-back picked out
Rondon in space just six yards out and the
Venezuelan controlled the ball superbly before
drilling low into the corner past De Gea.
Van Gaal threw on Memphis Depay in hope of a
similar comeback to that produced by 10-man
Liverpool at Crystal Palace earlier in the day, but
West Brom held on for a win that takes them to
within a point of the top 10 and leaves United facing
an uphill battle to keep pace with the challengers for
a UEFA Champions League place.

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Man Utd vs Watford

MANCHESTER UNITED 1 WATFORD

Barclays Premier League | 2 March 2016 | Old
Trafford | Attendance: 75,282 | Scorers: Mata 83

A late free-kick from Juan Mata gave Manchester
United an important victory over Watford on
Wednesday night.
The midfielder, named captain ahead of the game
in the absence of Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick
and Chris Smalling, stepped up to curl home a
delightful effort on 83 minutes to settle a hard-
fought contest at Old Trafford.
Anthony Martial was named in a youthful starting
line-up after recovering from a recent hamstring
injury, while in-form striker Marcus Rashford
retained his place up front. 21-year-old
midfielder Joe Rothwell was named among the
substitutes, the latest on a long list of youngsters
to appear in a first-team squad this season.
Louis van Gaal’s men went into the clash on the
back of Sunday’s confidence-boosting victory over
Arsenal, but it was the visitors who started on the
front foot, looking early to Troy Deeney and Odion
Ighalo.
It was United, though, who almost took the lead on
seven minutes, as Daley Blind’s cross was sliced
towards his own goal by Jose Holebas, but
Heurelho Gomes was alert to the danger. The Reds
also might have scored when Ander Herrera’s deep
cross reached an unmarked Martial at the far post,
but the Frenchman couldn’t direct his header on
target.
Watford were eager to show why they have earned
so many plaudits since winning promotion from the
Championship, and created an opening of their own
through Ighalo, who found half a yard before seeing
his goal-bound effort deflect wide. United
meanwhile were yet to settle into any sort of
rhythm, but a superb challenge from Tim Fosu-
Mensah – making his first start for the club –
sparked some life into the Reds.
Van Gaal’s men went within inches of taking the
lead on 19 minutes when Mata’s free-kick was
cleared as far as Morgan Schneiderlin, who hit a
dipping volley from 25 yards that dropped just wide
of Gomes’ right-hand post.
With both sides looking to attack but lacking in end
product, the Hornets again went close just before
the half-hour mark. Again, Ighalo’s clever
movement bought the striker some space in the
area, but his shot bobbled narrowly wide with De
Gea rooted to the spot.
The best opportunities of an closely-contested half
came shortly before the break, and unsurprisingly
fell at the feet of Ighalo. The Nigerian raced onto a
misplaced header and into the box, but De Gea
stuck out a leg to keep the scores level, before the
goalkeeper was called into action once more on 42
minutes. Ighalo again latched onto a loose pass,
but the Spaniard dived at his feet to deny what
should have been the opener, and in turn earn the
praise of Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores, his
former coach at Atletico Madrid, as the teams
walked down the tunnel.
HALF-TIME STATISTICS:
POSSESSION: United 64% Watford 36%
SHOTS (ON TARGET): United 6 (1) Watford 8 (3)
CORNERS: United 3 Watford 3

The second half began as the first had ended, and
Watford were almost celebrating a goal just three
minutes after the interval. Etienne Capoue picked
up the ball in midfield and unleashed a fierce strike
which zipped just over De Gea’s crossbar.
Sebastian Prodl went even closer for the visitors
minutes later, when his header was cleared off the
line by Rashford following a Watford corner.
The Hornets were on top, and might have taken
advantage through Ighalo 10 minutes into the
second period, as the striker turned Fosu-Mensah
and curled a shot past the post. They were almost
punished on the hour–mark though, as Mata stung
the palms of Gomes from the edge of the area, in
United’s first meaningful attack of the half.

The Reds were growing in confidence and, urged
forward by the fans, created two great openings in
quick succession. First, Rashford showed quick
footwork to get to the byline and drove a low cross
into the area, before Mata’s curling effort flew past
the diving Gomes and ended up well wide.
Watford were quick to remind United that they
possessed an attacking threat, and had a couple of
chances of their own as the game entered its final
stages. As the Hornets pressed, Blind’s attempted
clearance ricocheted off Fosu-Mensah and into the
path of Nordin Amrabat, but the substitute couldn’t
apply the finish. From the corner that followed,
Prodl raced in at the back post and headed inches
wide, in a sequence that summed up the game to
that point.

The all-important goal finally came with seven
minutes remaining, as Miguel Britos brought down
Martial on the edge of the area. Mata stepped up
to convert the resulting free-kick, bending a
beautiful effort over the wall and beyond the reach
of Gomes. The Spaniard was withdrawn late on, to
a much-deserved ovation from those inside Old
Trafford, with his goal earning the Reds a vital
three points.

FULL-TIME STATISTICS:
POSSESSION: United 61% Watford 39%
SHOTS (ON TARGET): United 14 (3) Watford 13 (3)
CORNERS: United 7 Watford 7

THE TEAMS
United: De Gea, Varela, Blind, Rojo (Darmian 70),
Fosu-Mensah, Schneiderlin, Herrera (Lingard 77),
Martial, Mata (McNair 89), Memphis, Rashford.
Subs not used: Romero, Riley, Rothwell, Weir.
Booked: Fosu-Mensah.

Watford: Gomes; Nyom, Britos, Prödl, Holebas,
Capoue, Watson, Behrami (Anya 86), Abdi (Suarez
70), Deeney, Ighalo (Amrabat 74).
Subs not used: Pantilimon, Cathcart, Paredes, Ake.
Booked: Britos, Amrabat.

MATCH REACTION
“We are fighting. In the fight, we've played a
fantastic match against Arsenal, and I believe
against Midtjylland we also played very well. The
win against Shrewsbury Town was the start of the
run of victories; I think the youngsters have given
us a lot of spirit, and now when you see the
dressing room full of joy with all the players
laughing, it’s beautiful to see. I think that shall also
accelerate the recovery of the players.” - Louis van
Gaal.

"I think it was very important to win today. It
wasn't the prettiest game we've played all season,
but especially because our rivals didn't win their
games, it's a massive victory for us. That's why we
celebrated the way we did." - Juan Mata.

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Man Utd Vs Arsenal Match Report

MANCHESTER UNITED 3 ARSENAL
2
Barclays Premier League | 28 February 2016 | Old
Trafford | Attendance: 75,329 | Scorers: Rashford
(29', 32'), Herrera (65'); Welbeck (40'), Ozil (69')

Marcus Rashford scored two goals and set up
another as Manchester United secured a dramatic
3-2 victory over Barclays Premier League rivals
Arsenal.
The young striker repeated his midweek debut
heroics, firing United into a 2-0 lead with a double
in three first-half minutes, but former Red Danny
Welbeck pulled one back five minutes before the
break.
Rashford was involved again with 25 minutes
remaining, teeing up Ander Herrera to add a third,
and Mezut Ozil's reply proved in vain for Arsene
Wenger's side.
Ahead of the game, the Reds were boosted by the
news of David De Gea's return to the starting line-
up, in one of two changes from the side that beat
Midtjylland on Thursday. Marcos Rojo was also
named on the teamsheet, having come on as a late
substitute against the Danish champions.
As expected, both sides were eager to make an
early impression and came out of the traps quickly.
The first chance was a significant one and fell at
the feet of Nacho Monreal, who was found
superbly by Ozil on six minutes but couldn't beat
De Gea from close range.
The Reds had an appeal for a penalty turned down
shortly after, as Rashford went past two defenders
before going down under a challenge from Gabriel
Paulista. Replays showed the fouled occurred
outside the area, and Memphis forced Petr Cech
into a good save from the resulting free-kick.
With chances few and far between, the game burst
into life just before the half-hour mark. United
broke forward in numbers and the ball found
Guillermo Varela on the right; Arsenal failed to
clear the youngster's first-time cross, and Rashford
calmly fired the Reds into the lead.
The goal left the Gunners shaken, and Wenger's
men were soon picking the ball out of their net
again. The Reds attacked at pace once more, and
another right-wing cross did the damage. Varela
picked out Jesse Lingard, and the winger's pin-
point delivery was met by Rashford, who headed
beyond Cech to send Old Trafford into raptures.
Arsenal weren't going down easily, though, and
fought back five minutes before the break. Again
Ozil was the provider, whipping in a free-kick for
Welbeck to easily nod home, and cap an
entertaining half of football.

HALF-TIME STATISTICS
POSSESSION: United 45% Arsenal 55%
SHOTS (ON TARGET): United 4 (3) Arsenal 8 (2)
CORNERS: United 0 Arsenal 2

The second half began as the first had ended, with
the visitors on the front foot. Having played a key
role in October's reverse fixture, Alexis Sanchez
was starting to grow into the game, and saw an
effort well blocked by Rojo after darting along the
18-yard line.
The United defender was forced off shortly after
following a 50-50 challenge with Welbeck, meaning
18-year-old Timothy Fosu-Mensah would make his
first-team debut. The injury setback prompted
Arsenal into a change of their own, with Olivier
Giroud on for the final 30 minutes.
It was Louis van Gaal's side who continued to
create the better chances, though, and the next
opportunity provided United's third. Rashford picked
up the ball in the Arsenal area and turned before
teeing up Herrera, whose shot took a heavy
deflection off Laurent Koscielny on its way in.
Memphis might have added a fourth after more
excellent hold-up play by Rashford, but the
Gunners again produced a quick response. Welbeck
found space in the area and produced a superb
save from De Gea, but Ozil was there to score
from the rebound, volleying in off the turf.
Tensions inside Old Trafford were as high as they
had been throughout the game, and players from
both sides were booked during a period that was
typical of the fixture. Amid the chaos, Arsenal were
still looking for an equaliser, and Giroud reminded
the Reds of his aerial threat when heading over the
bar with time running out.
Though chances were few and far between, the
away side continued to press, and five minutes of
added time were announced at the end of the half.
United, though, stood strong to see out a vital win
and claim all three points.

FULL-TIME STATISTICS
POSSESSION: United 39% Arsenal 61%
SHOTS (ON TARGET): United 7 (5) Arsenal 13 (5)
CORNERS: United 2 Arsenal 3

THE TEAMS
United: De Gea, Varela, Carrick (c), Blind, Rojo
(Fosu-Mensah 55'), Schneiderlin, Herrera (Weir
90+5'), Lingard, Mata, Memphis, Rashford (Januzaj
80').
Subs not used: Romero, McNair, Riley, Pereira.
Booked: Varela, Carrick, Herrera.

Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal,
Ramsey, Coquelin (Elneny 70'), Walcott (Giroud 63'),
Ozil, Sanchez, Welbeck (Iwobi 83').
Subs not used: Ospina, Mertesacker, Gibbs,
Campbell.
Booked: Ramsey, Elneny, Ozil.

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Sunderland Vs Man Utd Match Report

SUNDERLAND 2 MANCHESTER
UNITED 1

Barclays Premier League | 13 February 2016 |
Stadium of Light | Attendance: 41,687 | Scorers:
Khazri 3', Martial 39', De Gea o.g. 82'.

Manchester United fell to an agonising 2-1 defeat
at the Stadium of Light as a late Lamine Kone
header was diverted into his own net by the
unfortunate David de Gea.
Whabi Khazri opened the scoring with a third-
minute free-kick, before Anthony Martial equalised,
but United's defence was breached for a second
time as Kone's powerful downward header from a
corner rebounded off De Gea to send the Reds
home pointless.
United boss Louis van Gaal made one change to
his starting XI as Morgan Schneiderlin replaced
Marouane Fellaini, but there was a new and quite
aptly-named youngster on the bench with 21-year-
old defender Donald Love included in the matchday
squad for the first time on this Valentine's weekend
trip to Wearside. Will Keane was also among the
seven substitutes as a reward for his recent fine
form in the Under-21s.
United headed into this clash unbeaten in 13 visits
to the Stadium of Light and with the teams in the
top four facing off on Sunday, the Reds knew it
was an opportunity to close the gap. However, the
quest for a crucial victory got off to the worst
possible start after just three minutes.
After Patrick van Aanholt was blocked by Matteo
Darmian, Khazri's resulting left-wing free-kick
evaded everyone, including De Gea, and nestled in
off the far post to give the Black Cats a surprise
lead. It was the French-born Tunisian
international's first goal for the Black Cats
following his arrival in the January transfer window.
Minutes later Jermain Defoe battled with Chris
Smalling in the area and the United central
defender's block was crucial in preventing a second
goal for the hosts. Danger-man Khazri's fierce
strike then inadvertently hit Schneiderlin on the
arm, before he curled his effort over De Gea's
crossbar.
That second scare seemed to spark the Reds into
life and a succession of United corners followed
before Wayne Rooney found Juan Mata, who
opened the scoring in the 1-1 draw here last
season, but his effort was straight at Vito
Mannone.
Love's heart must have skipped a beat when he
was called off the substitutes' bench midway
through the first half for his first-team debut
in replace of the injured Matteo Darmian and
United's equaliser immediately followed. Mata's
low effort was saved by Mannone, but the rebound
fell to Martial who delicately dinked the ball over
the big Sunderland stopper from an acute angle to
send the sides in level at the break.

HALF-TIME STATS
POSSESSION: Sunderland 31% United 69%
SHOTS: Sunderland 8 United 5
SHOTS ON TARGET: Sunderland 1 United 3
CORNERS: Sunderland 0 United 5

Sunderland started the second half as they did the
first with a succession of set-plays, one of which
seemed to strike Rooney on the hand, before Defoe
was denied his seventh goal in as many games as
Daley Blind brilliantly blocked from close range.
On the hour mark the hosts went close to regaining
the lead as a quick counter attack sent Dame
N'Doye one-on-one with De Gea, but the United
number one saved well with his feet.
De Gea was busy again as he held onto Khazri's
25-yard direct free-kick, whilst at the other end,
substitute Memphis was looking to celebrate his
22nd birthday with an immediate impact after
coming on for Jesse Lingard and he nearly served
up a gift for Mata but the Spaniard's shot was well
blocked by substitute Jack Rodwell.
Kone forced De Gea into an acrobatic save, whilst
Mata, who was heavily involved throughout, fired
straight at Mannone.
The Reds continued to press for the winner as
Smalling latched onto Rooney's deep cross, but his
header was diverted wide. Kone however would not
waste his opportunity as his header into the ground
from Kazri's corner seemed to hit De Gea and find
its way into the net for what will sadly go down as
an own goal.
United continued to press, this time to salvage a
point and despite Memphis testing Mannone again
late on, the Reds lost at the Stadium of Light for
the first time in the Premier League.

FULL-TIME STATS
POSSESSION: Sunderland 34% United 66%

SHOTS: Sunderland 21 United 12

SHOTS ON TARGET: Sunderland 5 United 6
CORNERS: Sunderland 5 United 8

THE TEAMS
Sunderland: Mannone, Yedlin, O’Shea, Kone, van
Aanholt, Kirchhoff (Rodwell 15'), Cattermole
(Toivonen 85'), M’Vila, Khazri, N’Doye, Defoe
(Borini 71').
Subs not used: Brown, Matthews, Pickford,
Honeyman.
Booked: Yedlin, O'Shea

United: De Gea, Darmian (Love 38'), Smalling, Blind,
Borthwick-Jackson, Schneiderlin (Keane 86'),
Carrick, Lingard (Memphis 61'), Mata, Martial,
Rooney.
Subs not used: Romero, Weir, Pereira, Herrera.
Booked: Rooney, Mata, Carrick

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Sunderland Vs Man Utd

PREVIEW: SUNDERLAND V
MANCHESTER UNITED

How to follow the match: Saturday’s 12:45 GMT
kick-off will be broadcast live in the UK on BT Sport
1. Fans can also follow the action via
ManUtd.com’s match blog and the club’s Twitter
account @ManUtd . MUTV's Match Day Live
programme starts at 12:00 GMT and the club’s
official channel will show the full game at 18:00
GMT on Sunday.

Scene-setter : Louis van Gaal's men will be looking
to respond after a late goal denied the Reds
victory at Chelsea last weekend. Currently six
points off the top four, the United boss will be
hoping to close that gap with a win against the
struggling Black Cats, who sit 19th in the table .
Sam Allardyce's side will have been buoyed by a
credible draw at Liverpool last weekend, but have
plenty of work to do if they are to secure their top-
flight status for another year.

Form guide : United have lost just one of the last
nine games and are unbeaten in 13 previous league
trips to the Stadium of Light. The sides drew 1-1 in
last season's corresponding fixture, but the Reds
had claimed victories on the three trips to
Wearside before that. On an individual level, Wayne
Rooney has scored seven goals in eight
appearances since the turn of the year and netted
three times against Allardyce's side last season.
The skipper’s seven-goal tally against the Black
Cats is the most by any United player in the
Premier League era. Meanwhile, Jesse Lingard will
be hoping to score the Reds' opening goal for the
third game in a row, after netting against Stoke City
and Chelsea.

Latest team news : Will Keane has been named in
the travelling squad for Wearside. Adnan
Januzaj and Guillermo Varela are both unavailable
after limping out of the Under-21s' 7-0 thrashing of
Norwich City on Monday while Phil Jones also
sustained a knock. The game is also likely to come
too soon for Ashley Young and Bastian
Schweinsteiger . Marcos Rojo and Antonio
Valencia are closing on a return, while Luke Shaw
is still out. The home side are without Younes
Kaboul, Sebastian Larsson, Jeremain Lens and
Duncan Watmore while Adam Johnson has had his
contract terminated.

View from the dressing room: Michael Carrick says
his side need to battle on after last week’s
Stamford Bridge disappointment. "There is plenty
to play for this month and of course plenty of
points to play for in the league. We’re not giving
anything up just yet," he said on Tuesday.

"We
have to battle on through, keep going and play
something like we have been doing over the last
few weeks and then see where it takes us."

View from the opposition : Sunderland goalkeeper
Vito Mannone thinks his side’s precarious league
position makes Saturday’s clash very important. "In
the last three weeks, no matter who we’re playing
we want to get three points; we want the three
points (on Saturday)," he told the club’s official
website.

Danger men : After six months in the MLS, Jermain
Defoe has managed to recapture the form that
once made him one of England’s hottest strikers.
The 33-year-old has averaged a goal a game this
year and will be crucial to any success the hosts
may have if he is deemed fit to feature on
Saturday. January arrival Wahib Khazri has
impressed in his two Sunderland appearances thus
far, providing a slick assist for the former in last
weekend’s Anfield draw.

Betting : Club partners Marathonbet price United as
odds-on favourites to take the three points at
39/50, while Sunderland are deemed long-shots at
43/10 and the draw is available at 139/50. You can
get odds of 79/20 on Rooney adding to his previous
successes against the hosts with the opening goal,
and 44/5 on Lingard netting the opener for the third
consecutive game. Visit Marathonbet's website for
more offers .

Referee : Andre Marriner will take charge of his first
United match since last season's visit to Everton.
The West Midlands official has sent off seven
Sunderland players in his last 17 games involving
the Black Cats and presided over their 6-2 defeat
at Goodison Park earlier in the season, as well as
last term's 8-0 caning at Southampton. United have
lost four of the last five games he has overseen.

Rivals watch : The top four all face off against each
other on Sunday, with Leicester City visiting
Arsenal and Manchester City hosting Tottenham
Hotspur. Liverpool travel to Aston Villa on the
same day.

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Chlesea vs Man Utd Match Report

REPORT: CHELSEA 1
MANCHESTER UNITED 1

Barclays Premier League | 7 February 2016 |
Stamford Bridge | Att: 41,434 | Scorers: Lingard 61',
Costa 91'
Manchester United secured an entertaining 1-1
draw at champions Chelsea on Sunday, although
one point could easily have been three for Louis
van Gaal's unfortunate Reds.
Jesse Lingard scored the biggest goal of his
flourishing career with a superb effort that flew
past the impressive Thibaut Courtois, but a
potential victory was cruelly taken away by Diego
Costa's 91st-minute leveller. The result leaves
United fifth in the Barclays Premier League and six
points behind fourth-placed Manchester City, yet
the spirit that underpinned this performance
suggests progress can be made.
Louis van Gaal named an unchanged XI after
admitting he “did not have an argument” to rotate
following the convincing 3-0 win over Stoke City in
midweek. The manager will have been pleased by
his team’s start, too, after the Reds earned six
corners in the opening 20 minutes and registered
three shots on target through Cameron Borthwick-
Jackson, Michael Carrick and Anthony Martial.
The vociferous Costa, making his first career
appearance against United, headed over for
Chelsea on 26 minutes and Nemanja Matic nodded
at goal to force a fine save from David De Gea
moments later. Costa and Oscar also missed the
target from inside the penalty area just after the
half-hour mark as the first half became much more
competitive following a one-sided opening.
Marouane Fellaini lost his marker to head wide of
the left post on 40 minutes before an excellent
cross from the industrious Matteo Darmian rolled
across the entire six-yard area without anybody
obliging the invitation to score past a stranded
Thibaut Courtois. Daley Blind then survived a late
penalty scare in the closing seconds when his hand
collided with a John Terry shot from eight yards.

MATCH STATS AT HALF-TIME
POSSESSION: Chelsea 39% United 61%
SHOTS: Chelsea 6 United 8
SHOTS ON TARGET: Chelsea 1 United 3
CORNERS: Chelsea 3 United 10

Wayne Rooney began the second half by heading
tamely at goal from a Lingard cross, but the in-
form captain mustered a much more dangerous
effort shortly afterwards when his low strike from
around 20 yards was clawed away by Courtois.
After Martial had dragged a shot wide, the Belgian
goalkeeper was required again to parry Lingard’s
guided effort before blocking Rooney’s follow-up.
The match was temporarily halted on 55 minutes
when young Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma suffered
a serious-looking injury when landing from an aerial
challenge that forced him to be stretchered off.
United scored upon the restart and in brilliant
fashion as Lingard superbly turned on the ball
inside the penalty area and shot into the top
corner, opening the scoring for the second time in
a week following his headed effort against Stoke in
midweek. It was the 23-year-old's fourth strike in
19 senior outings this season.
The strong right hand of De Gea maintained
United’s clean sheet on 67 minutes, when he
displayed his enduring class by pushing a powerful
volley from Branislav Ivanovic over the crossbar.
The Spain international then denied his compatriot
Cesc Fabregas with another outstanding save, this
time using both hands to parry a thumping close-
range effort away from the top corner.
United fought for the win but frustratingly
conceded in the first of six added minutes, when
Costa latched on to a Fabregas pass to round De
Gea and finish into a empty net, salvaging a point
for Chelsea. The powerful striker almost bagged a
winner just seconds later with a low shot that was
saved once again by De Gea, whose performance
was unquestionably crucial to what was eventually
a hard-fought draw.

MATCH STATS AT FULL-TIME
POSSESSION: Chelsea 49% United 51%
SHOTS: Chelsea 15 United 17
SHOTS ON TARGET: Chelsea 4 United 7
CORNERS: Chelsea 9 United 11

THE TEAMS
Chelsea: Courtois, Ivanovic, Zouma (Cahill 59’),
Terry, Azpilicueta, Mikel, Matic (Pedro 67'), Willian,
Fabregas, Oscar (Hazard 54’), Diego Costa.
Subs not used: Begovic, Baba Rahman, Loftus-
Cheek, Traore.

United: De Gea, Darmian, Smalling, Blind,
Borthwick-Jackson, Fellaini (Schneiderlin 78'),
Carrick, Lingard (Memphis 86'), Mata (Herrera 94'),
Martial, Rooney.
Subs not used: Romero, McNair, Varela, Pereira.
Booked: Blind, Smalling

MATCH REACTION

Van Gaal: "I think we played a superb game until
the last quarter. We did not keep the ball and we
did not play the attack in the way I think we have
to do. We were unlucky that we got the goal
against us, it was unbelievable. We did not reward
ourselves."

Mata: “We played very good football. Coming here
to Chelsea isn’t easy, but particularly in the first 30
minutes and in the second half we played well –
we had it so close. But Chelsea were always
pushing and they scored a late goal and we didn’t
have any time to get another goal. It’s frustrating.”

Lingard: "We played the majority of the game well,
and to concede so late feels like a defeat. We’ve
got to move onto the next game now. The goal
was just instinct to turn and hit it. I was glad that
it went in but it was the three points that we
wanted."

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Man Utd Vs Stoke Results

MANCHESTER UNITED 3 STOKE
CITY 0

Barclays Premier League | 2 February 2016 | Old
Trafford | Attendance: 75,234 | Scorers: Lingard 14',
Martial 23', Rooney 53'

The current crop of Manchester United players
scored three goals the Busby Babes would have
been proud of as the Reds sealed an impressive
3-0 win over Stoke City.
On a night when the club remembered the Munich
Air Disaster of 1958 with various tributes, Louis van
Gaal's men - wearing black armbands - produced a
suitably exciting performance. A couple of fine
first-half finishes, from Jesse Lingard and Anthony
Martial, put United in the driving seat at the break,
before Wayne Rooney added an excellent third
soon after the restart and edged just five goals
behind Sir Bobby Charlton’s long-standing club
record.
Van Gaal made two changes to the side that beat
Derby County in the FA Cup with the fit-again
Matteo Darmian returning at right-back, in place of
Guillermo Varela, who moved to the bench, and
Michael Carrick coming in for Morgan Schneiderlin
who was also named amongst the substitutes.
Before the game, fans gathered together at Old
Trafford's Munich memorial, ahead of Saturday’s
58th anniversary, to pay their respects to the 23
people - including eight players - who perished
after the air crash on 6 February 1958. And it was
fitting that two of the club’s current Academy
graduates linked up to give United the lead after 14
minutes. Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, a nominee in
ManUtd.com’s January Player of the Month poll
and also celebrating his 19th birthday, fizzed in an
inviting cross from left and Lingard was at the back
post to head home with ease.
Just as he had done against Derby in the Cup,
Martial was causing havoc for defenders and he
thrashed a low drive into the side-netting soon
after. Another effort, straight at Jack Butland,
followed, before he finally hit the jackpot on 23
minutes with the finish for arguably United’s goal
of the season so far.
A move that started on the edge of the Reds' own
box and involved Lingard, Carrick, Darmian, Juan
Mata and Rooney ended up with a quite sublime
curling shot into the top corner from the Reds’ in-
form French striker.
Bar little pieces of possession in the opening
period, Stoke, who actually shaded the possession
stats at the break, offered little as an attacking
threat, but Mark Hughes’ men are always a danger
from set-pieces and a corner 11 minutes from the
break almost gave them a lifeline. But when the
ball dropped to Jonathan Walters six yards out he
hooked the effort over the bar.
The Reds, who looked strong as an attacking unit
throughout the first period, had a chance to grab
another before the break when Darmian made
space and crossed for the unmarked Mata, who
had popped up in some dangerous positions across
the opening 45 minutes, but his header was off
target.

HALF-TIME STATS
Possession: United 47% Stoke 53%
Shots: United 12 Stoke 6
Shots on target: United 4 Stoke 0
Corners: United 2 Stoke 3
The second half started in the same vein as the
first, with Stoke enjoying some decent possession,
but the Reds having the better openings. One of
those fell to Rooney, who fired home on 50 minutes
after a shoulder-charge with Glen Johnson, but
referee Roger East, with a very late whistle, blew
up for a foul.
The skipper would not be denied three minutes
later though after another free-flowing break
involving Mata and Martial. The former found the
latter and his cross was side-footed in from close
range by Rooney, earning him his seventh goal in
seven games in 2016 and his 244th overall for
United.
That goal effectively killed the contest with little to
report on thereafter in terms of clear-cut chances,
apart from an angled shot from substitute Memphis
Depay, but it mattered little after the impressive
work the Reds had done up to that point which
secured a deserved and welcome victory.

FULL-TIME STATS
Possession : United 47% Stoke 53%
Shots: United 15 Stoke 10
Shots on target: United 5 Stoke 0
Corners: United 2 Stoke 5

Teams
United: De Gea; Darmian, Smalling, Blind,
Borthwick-Jackson; Fellaini (Herrera 80), Carrick,
Lingard, Mata (Pereira 88), Martial (Memphis 79);
Rooney.
Subs not used: Romero, McNair, Varela,
Schneiderlin.
Booked: Darmian, Martial.

Stoke City : Butland, Johnson, Wollscheid (Bardsley
30), Muniesa, Pieters, Whelan, Afellay, Walters,
Bojan (Ireland 60), Arnautovic, Crouch.

Subs not
used: Haugaard, Odemwingie, Joselu, Diouf, Shaqiri.
Booked: Ireland.

MATCH REACTION
"I am a happy coach. When you see how we
created the goals with fantastic play building up
from the back and finishing, that’s what I like." -
Louis van Gaal

“We’re over the moon. As soon as we got the first
goal, we were confident of getting a second and
third. The early goal was massive. It settles the
fans, the manager and ourselves down." - Jesse
Lingard

" I’m really happy with the result and the three
points. We put in a really good performance. Now
we need to keep this level up." - David De Gea

REDS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Anthony Martial (@AnthonyMartial) - Great result
tonight.

Morgan Schneiderlin (@SchneiderlinMo4) - Great
performance for the #flowersofmanchester.
Congratulations to Jesse, @AnthonyMartial &
@WayneRooney for the goals! #MUFC

Daley Blind (@BlindDaley) - Great result tonight,
some brilliant goals!! #MUFC

Marouane Fellaini (@Fellaini) - 3-0 strong team
performance!! #MUFC

Antonio Valencia (@anto_v25) - Congratulations to
my mates! You made a great match! #Vamos
@ManUtd @ManUtd_Es

Bastian Schweinsteiger (@BSchweinsteiger) -
Amazing scenes at Old Trafford tonight. Congrats
on this strong performance, @ManUtd! #mufc

Ashley Young (@youngy18) - Good win and
performance by the boys tonight #mufc

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Man Utd vs Southampton

Charlie Austin made a dream Southampton debut by
heading an 87th-minute winner to sink Manchester
United 1-0 at Old Trafford.
Austin returned to the Barclays Premier League this
week when Saints signed the striker from Queens
Park Rangers, and he stepped off the bench late in
the day to ensure a repeat of the same scoreline
this fixture produced last season.
Southampton had carried a set-piece threat before
Austin entered the fray in place of Sadio Mane in
the 79th minute and his decisive goal owed
something to an over-eager challenge from returning
Man Utd substitute Adnan Januzaj.
Making his comeback after a loan stint at Borussia
Dortmund, Januzaj brought down Austin and the
former Burnley striker planted a fine header beyond
David De Gea from James Ward-Prowse's unerring
right-wing delivery.
United slip five points behind fourth-placed
Tottenham Hotspur, while Southampton move up to
eighth, having claimed three consecutive league
wins for the first time this season.
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson made his first BPL start
at left wing-back following Ashley Young’s groin
injury, with Van Gaal switching to 3-5-2 to match his
opponents' shape.
Two goals in the 3-0 win over West Bromwich Albion
were not enough to keep Ward-Prowse in the
Southampton XI, the midfielder joining Austin on the
bench as Jordy Clasie and Dusan Tadic earned
starts.
Mane had a disappointing first half's best sight of
goal in the 37th minute, but his touch and footing
deserted him in the United area after playing a neat
one-two with Tadic.
And as the home supporters launched into yet
another rendition of "attack, attack, attack" Jesse
Lingard's deflected stoppage-time effort span wide.
Van Gaal responded by sending on Juan Mata in
place of Marouane Fellaini in an attempt to spark
some creativity.
Mata and Wayne Rooney combined in the desired
fashion after 54 minutes, although Anthony Martial
could not get a shot off and Southampton
goalkeeper Fraser Forster gratefully grasped the ball.
Van Gaal’s defensive injury woes worsened when
Matteo Darmian came off worse in a 58th-minute
collision with Shane Long – the Republic of Ireland
striker heading a subsequent corner wide under
pressure from the Italian's replacement, Paddy
McNair.
A goalless draw seemed inevitable before Austin's
accurate finish thrillingly grabbed the bragging rights
for Koeman over his old rival Van Gaal after just
eight minutes on the field.
Another Southampton substitute, Oriol Romeu, drew
a sharp save from De Gea as the visitors threatened
further misery before Januzaj sent a fizzing shot
wide in injury time.
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal: "I had a
feeling they could score only from a set-play. Our
defence in set-plays was weaker because I changed
Fellaini and had to change Darmian. Every change
was a weakness in defence. I wanted to win this
game and that’s why I changed Cameron Borthwick-
Jackson for Adnan Januzaj. That is a risk you take, it
was a poor game and we didn’t create so much and
neither did our opponent."
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman: "After their
goal went in, there were 20 minutes where we hung
on, but we stopped them scoring, which we haven't
done recently. We've gained a result from going a
goal behind, and that shows a bit of character from
the players. They overcame their fears and came
back strongly. It's a precious point. We've showed a
lot of nerve to come through our bad spell and if we
continue like that we're going to be fine."

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Liverpool Vs Man Utd

PREVIEW: LIVERPOOL V
MANCHESTER UNITED

How to follow the match : Manchester United's Barclays
Premier League trip to Liverpool kicks off at 14:05 GMT
on Sunday and will be screened live on Sky Sports in the
UK. You can follow the action in ManUtd.com's live
match blog from Anfield or via @ManUtd on Twitter ,
while MUTV will broadcast live matchday programmes
at 13:00 and 16:00 GMT before showing the match in
full at midnight.
Scene-setter : It’s the 194th edition of arguably the most
famous rivalry in English football, as United make the
short trip down the M62 to do battle with Liverpool. The
two sides are fighting to get into the top four and both
go into the game on the back of 3-3 draws. United have
had the upper hand in this fixture recently, having won
the last three encounters.

Form guide : On Tuesday, United were denied a third
consecutive win in all competitions at the start of 2016,
when Paul Dummett netted a late equaliser for
Newcastle United at St James’ Park. The following day,
it was Liverpool who were scoring a last-gasp leveller to
secure a 3-3 draw, at home to leaders Arsenal. The
Merseysiders’ league form has been patchy, with two
wins, two draws and two defeats from their last six
league games, and they are ninth in the table , three
points behind United.
Latest team news : Bastian Schweinsteiger and Phil
Jones missed the Newcastle game with knee and ankle
injuries respectively, and Louis van Gaal will likely
provide an update on their fitness in his Friday
afternoon press conference. Marcos Rojo , Antonio
Valencia and Luke Shaw are all still sidelined. Liverpool
have several injury problems, with key playmaker
Philippe Coutinho, Martin Skrtel and Divock Origi all out,
and both Daniel Sturridge and Dejan Lovren struggling
to be fit in time for this weekend’s clash. Danny Ings
and Joe Gomez are long-term absentees but Steven
Caulker has been drafted in on loan.

View from the dressing room : "In recent times, we’ve
done very well against them so we’re very confident of
going there and causing them a problem."– Chris
Smalling

View from the opposition camp : "These games are
always great occasions, games you want to be involved
in as professionals and look forward to." – Joe Allen

Danger men: With Coutinho sidelined, Brazilian attacker
Roberto Firmino has stepped up to the plate as both a
creative and goalscoring threat for Jurgen Klopp’s side,
netting twice in the midweek draw with Arsenal.
Christian Benteke remains a formidable presence up
front and scored a spectacular overhead kick in
Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford in September, his
third in consecutive fixtures against the Reds after his
Aston Villa exploits.
Trivia: United’s next goal at Anfield will be the club’s
100th there in all competitions against Liverpool, with
the Reds’ tally of 99 so far comprising 92 in the league
and seven in cups. United’s first goal at the
Merseysiders’ home was scored in October 1895 by Joe
Cassidy, in the clubs’ only Division Two meeting there,
when Newton Heath were drubbed 7-1. Our most recent
strike at Anfield was Juan Mata’s unforgettable
acrobatic effort in March.

Betting : Official partner Marathonbet are offering 12/5
on United making it four wins in a row against Liverpool,
with a home win priced at 11/8 and the draw at 47/20.
To get the latest odds, and sign up with Marathonbet,
visit manutd.com/bet .
Referee: Mark Clattenburg takes charge of his fourth
United game of the season, having presided over
September’s 3-2 win at Southampton and the home
goalless draws with Manchester City and West Ham
United , in October and December respectively.

Rivals watch: In the only other Premier League game on
Sunday, leaders Arsenal visit seventh-placed Stoke City
at 16:15 GMT. The other four sides above United in the
table are all in action on Saturday: Tottenham Hotspur
host Sunderland (12:45 GMT), Man City welcome
Crystal Palace (15:00 GMT), West Ham are at
Newcastle (15:00 GMT) and Leicester City face a
Midlands derby away at rock-bottom Aston Villa (17:30
GMT).

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