Manchester United returned to winning ways against Newcastle after dropping points against Aston Villa last weekend, keeping up an excellent Boxing Day winning record. Louis van Gaals team are slowly establishing themselves as a dark horse title contender and Sundays trip to Tottenham will be another big test to their credentials. Heres a look at the starting XI the manager is expected to pick. Goalkeeper 1 de Gea David de Gea had less to do against Newcastle than in recent games. However, the Spaniard still had to be on top of his game to keep out efforts from Daryl Janmaat and Ayoze Perez at crucial times. Defence 4 Jones 12 Smalling 6 Evans The back-three tactics that van Gaal has reverted to over the last few weeks havent been without flaws. However, with injured players still not quite ready to return there is little reason for the manager to change things just yet. On Boxing Day, Paddy McNair made his first start since being hauled off in the first half against Southampton several weeks ago, and although he did reasonably well, he still looked a little nervous. Chris Smalling was under consideration to return against Newcastle and is now likely to come in for the Northern Irish teenager. Phil Jones and Jonny Evans both suffered occasional lapses against Newcastle, but are expected to keep their places with Marcos Rojo not likely to be ready in time Midfield 25 Valencia 10 Rooney 16 Carrick 8 Mata 18 Young Such was the performance level from his five man midfield on Thursday afternoon that they are likely to remain unchanged. van Gaal took the liberty of resting Michael Carrick for the final half hour when the result was tied up, so the veteran should be fresh to start. Wayne Rooney performed admirably in a Paul Scholes type role and is likely to play there much more regularly over the coming months, while the absence of Angel Di Maria, Marouane Fellaini and Adnan Januzaj means that Juan Matas place isnt under threat. Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young have both been excellent as wing-backs in recent games and both will be full of confidence ahead of Sunday. Luke Shaw may also be in with a chance of a return from the bench. Ander Herrera could feature later on, but Daley Blind is still at least another two weeks away from a possible return. Forwards 9 Falcao 20 van Persie Radamel Falcao enjoyed arguably his best performance in a United shirt against Newcastle. The Colombian didnt find the net himself, but he demonstrated great movement and intelligence to assist Rooney for the opener and crucially won the ball back to directly lead to the second goal. He was rested for the final half hour, suggesting that van Gaal already had the clash with Spurs in mind. Robin van Persie was also a key performer against Newcastle and will revel in the challenge of facing his former north London rivals.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 01:25:16 +0000
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