Manchester United take on Stoke in what will be a cold, rainy night in North England or more specifically, Old Trafford. With Manchester United flailing in consistency all over the pitch and their only real threat for goal being Wayne Rooney, it is abundantly clear that he will be starting the match as the de facto striker for the Mancunians. In a high pressure match for Louis van Gaal, expectations to learn from the demoralising two-nothing defeat against the very same opponents in the reverse fixture will be harboured.
Meanwhile, ex Manchester United striker and current Stoke City manager Mark Hughes will be looking to put a light to all of that and will make sure the opponents on the night are as frustrated as they can be. It can be a very dangerous match for Manchester United as they have shown propensity to keep hold of the ball in useless areas and pass the game to death, meanwhile Stoke just sit back for the counter and let their trio of Arnautovic, Shaqiri and Affelay dictate the attack as they dismantle the opposition, a direct pass after another. United will need to make sure their possession counts for something and isn’t only a proud statistic at the end of the match.
Man United: De Gea, Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Borthwick-Jackson, Fellaini, Carrick, Lingard, Mata, Martial, Rooney.
Subs: Romero, McNair, Varela, Schneiderlin, Herrera, Pereira, Memphis.
Stoke: Butland, Johnson, Wollscheid, Muniesa, Pieters; Whelan, Afellay, Walters, Bojan, Arnautovic, Crouch.
Subs: Haugaard, Bardsley, Ireland, Odemwingie, Joselu, Diouf, Shaqiri.