Whisper it, but United might be on the way to redemption. They’re not quite there, of course, but November was as encouraging a month as we had witnessed since lifting the trophy in May 2013. Three games, nine points, two clean sheets and a first away win, all while United’s direct rivals for fourth place – which, like it or not, is the only realistic target for this season – dropped points, allowing Louis Van Gaal’s troops to sneak into the top four.
Beating the likes of Crystal Palace and Hull City at home should be a routine exercise for United, but if last season taught us anything is that nothing should be taken for granted and, therefore, November’s mini-revival was more than welcome, particularly as it’s been achieved with a squad ravaged by injuries.
A win against Stoke would lift United within one point of third place, ahead of Southampton’s trip to the Emirates tomorrow night, but Mark Hughes’ men are likely to prove a sterner test than Hull did on Saturday.
United team news
Van Gaal said that Radamel Falcao’s fitness is still some way short of 100% but the Colombian is likely to be involved at some stage, while Wayne Rooney has been passed fit and will look at continuing his excellent run of form. Angel Di Maria, Luke Shaw, Daley Blind and Phil Jones will miss out, while Jonny Evans is unlikely to be risked as he recovers from a 10-week spell on the sideline.
The lengthy injury list means Van Gaal might not be able to rotate his squad as much as he’d like to, which means United’s line-up tonight could resemble the one that beat Hull 3-0 on the weekend. Tyler Blackett and Paddy McNair could come in for Marcos Rojo or Antonio Valencia, with Chris Smalling shifted to right-back, but the minimal changes are expected in midfield, where Ander Herrera is almost guaranteed to start after a brilliant performance on Saturday.
Against Hull, Van Gaal adopted a 4-2-2-2 line-up, which means Adnan Januzaj could replace Di Maria, with Herrera deployed in a deeper role and one between Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini making way, while James Wilson could be handed a start in place of Robin Van Persie.
Stoke City team news
Stoke arrive at Old Trafford on the back of consecutive defeats against Burnley and Liverpool and are expected to be without Steve Sidwell, Glenn Whelan, Victor Moses, Robert Huth and Peter Odemwingie.
Key men
Having won three on the bounce, United’s confidence looks to be growing and they’ll need to negotiate a potentially tricky fixture. Wayne Rooney looks to be hitting the kind of form that makes him almost unstoppable and alongside Juan Mata, who was superb in United’s 3-0 win on Saturday, he could be the key to open Stoke’s back four.
Previous meetings
United won the corresponding fixture 3-2 last season, coming from behind courtesy of two late goals from Rooney and Javier Hernandez, but lost 2-1 at the Britannia as Charlie Adam – the player who, according to the Daily Mirror’s Oliver Holt, was going to be a better signing than Aguero – one of the many lows of Moyes’ tenure.
Overall United have played the Potters 100 times winning 41, drawing 32 and losing 27.
Potential line-up
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