Manchester United Will Need Wayne Rooney in Manchester Derby

Following Manchester United's dramatic last-gasp equaliser against Chelsea last Sunday, Louis van Gaal's team head into this weekend's Manchester derby with great confidence of getting a positive result, with the welcome return of club captain Wayne Rooney only further serving that self-belief.

Rooney has missed the last three league matches through suspension following a foolish kick at Stewart Downing in United's 2-1 victory over West Ham United. However, the subsequent three fixtures have shown United supporters how in certain situations, Rooney is an excellent player to have in their team, and the returning forward will almost certainly play a key role at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

There was an initial scare regarding Rooney's fitness on Sunday following a report written by Jamie Jackson in The Guardian suggesting that the England captain had been seen limping at Old Trafford during a sponsored event on Monday afternoon.

The report was a blow to supporters but not quite a surprise given Manchester United's rather ludicrous troubles with injuries thus far this season, as well as Rooney's history of struggling for fitness following a run of missed matches.

In a report published by the Manchester Evening News' David Lynch earlier today, it was suggested that Rooney will indeed return to United's starting line-up on Sunday, with the 29-year-old having recovered from his slight injury to have resumed full training on Wednesday.

In the three matches Rooney has missed, United have remained unbeaten, with the club having beaten Everton 2-1 and then drawn consecutive fixtures against West Bromwich Albion and Chelsea. Given the defensive nightmare Van Gaal had to endure at the beginning of the season, this has been a considerable upturn in fortune. However, the result at The Hawthorns is one which could come back to haunt United in their pursuit of a top-four finish.

The performance against Chelsea was easily United's most impressive all-round display, with all functions of United's football impressing from the defence through to the midfield and attack. The 4-5-1 system which Van Gaal utilised did well to nullify Chelsea's biggest threat, Cesc Fabregas, and allow United to often have a man advantage when Chelsea were on the counter-attack given Nemanja Matic's strict positional discipline inside his own half.

There were areas of concern. At times there appeared to be a lack of energy in a midfield which contained Marouane Fellaini, Daley Blind and Juan Mata, with the only real speed being provided by Angel Di Maria and Adnan Januzaj tucking into an inverted position on either flank.

If, as I expect them to, United keep to the five-man midfield for Sunday's derby, the introduction of Rooney and the energy he brings could tip the game in United's favour, particularly given City's current struggles.

Bleacher Report's very own Rob Dawson penned a piece following the draw with West Brom about the pressure Juan Mata was under to perform during Rooney's absence:

"

Rooney's suspension following his red card against West Ham handed Mata an unexpected chance to show that he shouldn't be the one to miss out. 

But he's struggled to have enough influence against Everton and West Brom. At the Hawthorns on Monday, he was replaced after 72 minutes as United chased an equaliser.

There's a lot of responsibility on him in Van Gaal's system to be the creator-in-chief. But he hasn't seen enough of the ball, or done enough with it when he has got hold of it. 

The player who usually buzzes around the penalty area, looking for ways to unlock a stubborn defence, has been missing.

"

Mata has not delivered in the way supporters expected him to in the three matches without Rooney and as such could find himself replaced on Sunday, but within a squad of footballers you must have a diverse range of individuals with different skills, even those who occupy a similar position.

I think it would be fair to say Mata is the far more gifted technical player out of the pair but also the player who excels more when the going is good and the situation allows him to play his natural, free-spirited creative game. Rooney brings a rugged, physical element which Mata doesn't, and in a match against a City side packed with physically imposing individuals, the presence of Rooney may be more useful in this situation.

It is a given, United will have to defend well throughout the contest. However, rather like Chelsea, City are in truth more adept at retaining possession for long periods. Facing this style requires discipline; if you charge forward to press too high, then City will pick you off.

United did an excellent job of keeping a midfield shape against Chelsea and as such weren't really threatened on the counter, aside from a few instances in the second half when Eden Hazard's decision-making was uncharacteristically poor.

In terms of numbers, however, Manchester City's midfield is not packed like Chelsea's. In Mourinho's 4-1-4-1 system there are four Chelsea midfielders in addition to Matic in position to retain possession. In City's 4-2-2-2 there are often only two or three depending on the situation. This will give Rooney the freedom to break from a line of five and help Robin van Persie press higher up the pitch at certain times, something the Dutchman will appreciate.

United can keep a strong line of four in this shape with Rooney pushing up ever so slightly to give United more offensive options.It's almost a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Rooney having to get through a lot of physical work to cover attacking-midfield and central-midfield positions depending on what different situations require. Unfortunately, this is not a workload that Mata can realistically get through.

An alternative option would be to swap Rooney for Januzaj and keep Mata in the midfield, although this would severely limit United's effectiveness on the break, something which caused Ivanovic and Filipe Luis problems on Sunday. It could also possibly damage the development of Januzaj, who is showing his first signs of form this year.

As reported by ESPN.co.uk earlier this season, Van Gaal has made team selections possibly difficult for himself further down the line by suggesting Rooney will most likely have a place in the team as captain. On Sunday, Rooney will return, and rightly so, with the United captain being the possible difference-maker between the two sides in the first Manchester derby of the season.