Manchester United vs. Sunderland: Team News, Preview, Live Stream & TV Info
Gus Poyet's Sunderland travel to Manchester to face Louis van Gaal's stuttering Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
A rare back-to-back 3 p.m. Saturday kick-off for United sees them face an encounter that can be reasonably described as "must win." With the race for Champions League places so tight and a tough run of fixtures on the immediate horizon, Van Gaal simply cannot afford a slip-up here, unless he is remarkably confident about United's ability to compete with the big boys.
Poyet may envy Van Gaal's issues, as the Dutchman faces a battle for European qualification, rather than the battle against relegation faced by Poyet. Sunderland's thoroughly uninspiring season has left them two places above the drop zone, just three points from danger.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Last season's version of this fixture saw Ryan Giggs suffer the only defeat of his brief tenure in charge, as Sunderland were scrapping desperately to stay in the division, while United players had little at stake. Van Gaal will be hoping for a better result than his current assistant managed.
Date: Saturday 28 February
Time: 3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. EST
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester
TV Info: NBCSN (US Only)
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra (US only)
Form Lines
Sunderland: WDLLD
Manchester United: WDWWL
Team News
Robin van Persie and Michael Carrick should be United's only absentees, with James Wilson reportedly available again, per the club's official website.
Sunderland's official website quotes head coach Gus Poyet as saying "Billy Jones will be touch and go so I don’t know if he is going to be available. Jack Rodwell has a chance to play and I hope Will Buckley does too."
Predicted Lineups
Manchester United's formation remains difficult to predict. The 4-1-4-1 above could easily be reshaped to a diamond. Ashley Young over Adnan Januzaj and/or Marouane Fellaini ahead of Juan Mata look like possibilities. James Wilson may be preferred to out-of-sorts Radamel Falcao, but that would be a very strong statement from Van Gaal.
Sunderland may prefer Ricardo Alvarez to Sebastian Larsson on the right, with Larsson coming in field if Jack Rodwell is not yet ready for action. Anthony Reveillere may well start if Billy Jones is unavailable (or indeed if he is), with John O'Shea moved to centre-back.
Players to Watch
Jermain Defoe has two goals for the Black Cats already and will be eager to add to his tally. United's defence dealt dismally with Swansea's attacks down both flanks last Saturday, so Adam Johnson should be able to get some joy out of them.
United's attacking spark has been missing, and it is hard to predict who of their storied attacking players will be on song. Angel Di Maria remains worth watching, in spite of his relative struggles recently. Wayne Rooney will be looking forward to having more of an impact up front. Juan Mata has not seen much action recently, but if he is called back into the fray for this one, look for him pulling the strings.
Key Battle
Lee Cattermole against the referee is always a battle worth watching. Joking aside though, the two battles of attack versus defence should be key. From Sunderland's attacking perspective, they will be looking to get joy from the wings, so Johnson versus Antonio Valencia/Luke Shaw could be a crucial background.
United's attackers have the beating of most defences on paper, so once again the key battle for them is against their own form. Given Robin van Persie's abysmal showing against Swansea, he is unlikely to be missed.
Odds
The odds for the game, at the time of writing, per Odds Shark are:
Manchester United Win: -265
Draw: +425
Sunderland Win: +929
