Stoke vs. Manchester United: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info

Stoke City vs. Manchester United sees Louis van Gaal bring his side to the Britannia Stadium in desperate need of a win over Mark Hughes' charges. 

Van Gaal was asked by MUTV whether this represented a must-win game (h/t the club's website) and replied, "Yes, I think so because, when you have lost three times in a row, then you need a victory."

Former United man Hughes has defended the Red Devils, saying, per the Press Association (h/t MailOnline), "They have got good players, they have got a good squad. They have got good individual talent. You would expect at some point they would start to click again. Hopefully we won't allow that at the weekend."

There is a huge amount at stake for Van Gaal in this game. The pressure and negativity that has surrounded the club since the Norwich City defeat on Saturday would be compounded by anything less than a win. On the other hand, a confident victory would swing the crisis-o-metre back into safer territory. 

Date: Saturday, December 26, 2015

Time: 12:45 p.m. GMT/7:45 a.m. ET

Venue: Britannia Stadium, Stoke, England

TV Info: Sky Sports 1 (UK Only)/NBCSN and NBC Universo (U.S. only)

Live Stream: Sky Go (UK Only), NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S. Only)

Form Lines

Stoke City: WLWWDL

Manchester United: DDDLLL

Team News

According to Daniel Taylor of the Guardian, Stoke are without "[Geoff] Cameron (hamstring, 28 Dec), [Peter] Crouch (hamstring, 2 Jan), [Marc] Muniesa (hamstring, 5 Jan), [Stephen] Ireland (hamstring, 9 Jan), [Shay] Given (knee, unknown)." 

Van Gaal told MUTV (h/t the club's website) the picture was similar to how it had been before the Norwich game, saying:

"

It is more or less the same, so there is no difference, only that Phil Jones played 90 minutes against Norwich and had no reaction. That’s a good signal. 

I think [Matteo] Darmian shall come [back] next week and then maybe against Chelsea, we have to see that but, of course, we have injuries that take a long time. For example, [Luke] Shaw, [Antonio] Valencia and [Marcos] Rojo, and you cannot change that.

"

This game marks the last of the run of three for which Bastian Schweinsteiger has been suspended.  The Germany international will presumably return to the side against Chelsea on Dec. 28.

Predicted Lineups

Hughes has plenty of flexibility to call upon in forward positions, and a spot for either Jonathan Walters, Marco van Ginkel or Mame Biram Diouf would not be a huge shock. The above lineup is that which defeated Manchester City 2-0 at the Britannia on Dec. 5 with Charlie Adam in for the injured Cameron. Van Ginkel could play there instead. 

There is also the possibility Hughes will line up with the out-and-out 4-3-3 he deployed against Crystal Palace on Dec. 19. Although the Potters lost that game, they nonetheless dominated, with 26 shots to Palace's 12 and 57.5 per cent of the possession. If that comes to pass, expect Adam to miss out to Van Ginkel. 

The above lineup has two changes from the defeat against Norwich. Marouane Fellaini is replaced with Morgan Schneiderlin in pursuit of additional defensive cover against Stoke's plethora of skillful attacking players.

The decision to play Anthony Martial out wide with Juan Mata at No. 10 and Wayne Rooney up front did not exactly pay dividends against the Canaries, so the suggestion would be to return Martial to the centre.

It is of course possible Van Gaal will make more sweeping changes, and he really should, especially if he can find a way to make Ander Herrera central to his team. Given the poor results and performances that have been the norm of late, betting against a big change may be an error.

Players to Watch

Picking one of Stoke's attackers probably does disservice to the effectiveness of the unit. Against Manchester City, for example, Marko Arnautovic scored the goals, but both were provided by Xherdan Shaqiri. Bojan Krkic scored against Palace, taking his total for the season to four, second to Arnautovic (who has five) in the Stoke scoring charts.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press/Associated Press

Shaqiri has been chief provider, averaging 2.2 key passes per league game and providing three assists—more than any other Stoke player. 

For United, it is hard to look beyond the usual suspect as a player to watch: Anthony Martial. The youngster has two goals in his last three games, and his effort against Norwich was an example of just what a fine player the 20-year-old already is.

The touch with his right foot that set himself for the left-foot finish was deft, perfectly weighted and a beautiful demonstration of his superb close control. 

Jon Super/Associated Press/Associated Press

Key Battle

Whoever forms Stoke's front four—or front three, depending on the formation—will take confidence from United's recent fixtures.

The Red Devils' previously solid defence has been all too permeable of late, and they have conceded seven in their past three games. While United fans desperately want their team to be more exciting and effective in front of goal, getting the defence functioning again will be crucial, and Stoke will be a big test.

Odds

Stoke: 119-50

Draw: 57-25

Manchester United: 141-100

Odds for the game correct at the time of writing, per Odds Shark.

All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com.