Manchester United V Chelsea: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info

At the time of writing it looks like Louis van Gaal will take charge of Manchester United for their game against Chelsea. That did not seem a definite after the defeat at home to Norwich City or away to Stoke City. 

Ian Herbert of the Independent reported that Van Gaal is "deeply embarrassed by a losing streak and convinced ahead of Monday night’s match against Chelsea that his team is gone and beyond help."

Herbert also said that "Van Gaal has spoken with United’s executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward since the excruciating 2-0 defeat at Stoke on Saturday and been reassured that the club still believe he is the man to stay at the helm." 

This level of uncertainty in the Old Trafford ranks is surely good news for new Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink. There has not been a better time to face United for a long time—indeed, the four consecutive defeats they have suffered is a run the likes of which has not been seen since 1961.

Under Jose Mourinho—a man linked with the United job, per Herbert—Chelsea's form this season was woeful, and the reigning champions sit 10 points below the struggling 20-time champions.

Hiddink is tasked with turning around those fortunes. Speaking ahead of this one, he said, per BBC Sport, "Every Chelsea versus Manchester United game is big but this one is especially of course. I hope we can show the same ambition there that we showed in a big part of this game [against Watford]." 

If Van Gaal's position were more certain, more attention would be paid to the intriguing subplot of Hiddink and Van Gaal's decades-old rivalry. Simon Kuper of ESPN FC wrote of it: 

"

[Hiddink] wouldn't mind humbling his old rival Van Gaal. The two men have known each other since the 1970s, when both were elegant but slow playmakers with small Dutch clubs. Both played semi-professionally and worked as gym teachers for kids with learning disabilities.

Yet the last two relics of the legendary Dutch Seventies still working in top-class soccer have never got on. The boastful, humourless Van Gaal irritates Hiddink. Van Gaal, for his part, considered Hiddink a pragmatic, unadventurous coach.

'The way Guus Hiddink has his teams play, I don't like it all,' he said once in the years before he created the dullest Manchester United in memory.

"

For this game, though, Van Gaal vs. Hiddink will have to take undercard billing to Van Gaal's fight for his future. That is surely the main event here. 

Date: Monday, December 28, 2015

Time: 5:30 p.m. GMT/12:30 p.m. ET

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester, England

TV Info: BT Sport 1 (UK only)/NBCSN and NBC Universo (U.S. only)

Live Stream: BT Sport (UK only), NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S. only)

Form Lines

Manchester United: DDLLLL

Chelsea: DLWLWD

Team News

The Telegraph reported "midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger returns from suspension for the game against the Blues and defender Matteo Darmian has a chance of making his return from a hamstring injury, but Jesse Lingard (hamstring), Marcos Rojo (shoulder), Antonio Valencia (foot) and Luke Shaw (leg) are out."

The paper went on to say that Chelsea will be without Diego Costa, who is suspended for picking up a fifth yellow card of the season in the 2-2 draw with Watford on Boxing Day. It also stated "Eden Hazard and Jon Obi Mikel came on as substitutes against Watford so are in contention to start—possibly at the expense of Cesc Fabregas, who came off at half-time." 

Predicted Lineups

After the disaster of the performance against Stoke, Van Gaal has to make some changes. The above lineup sees Marouane Fellaini dropped and Wayne Rooney returned to the starting XI. The most effective way to accommodate Rooney and Ander Herrera is to play Rooney up front with Anthony Martial moved out wide. 

There are numerous other options available to Van Gaal, but the above looks like a decent balance between attacking potency and defensive structure, neither of which has been in evidence of late. 

The above shows one of the options for which Hiddink could elect. With Oscar having struggled against Watford, he could perhaps give Hazard a chance at No. 10, allowing him to stick with the pace of Pedro and Willian on the flanks. Hazard could also be preferred to Pedro with Oscar in the centre. 

Players to Watch

Picking a United player worthy of this merit seems laughable given how poor virtually the whole team have been of late. Perhaps Bastian Schweinsteiger's return can help inspire a little more fight into the side. After all, three of the four sequential defeats Van Gaal's side have suffered have coincided with the Germany international's absence through suspension.

Chelsea's triumvirate of attacking midfielders, whatever their exact make-up, should be a challenge for United's beleaguered defence. Willian has been a notable exception to the Chelsea squad's general underperformance, leading their assist chart with three and having scored seven goals in the league and Champions League.

His particular qualities are likely to test United, who struggled with Nathan Redmond attacking them with pace against Norwich and with Stoke's creative attackers at the Britannia Stadium.

Key Battle

With United on the back foot, Willian vs. Daley Blind could be the game's key battle. Can the Dutchman help out his attack-minded colleagues without being left exposed on the counter-attack? Blind has performed above expectation in several key battles this season, but with the general malaise around United, this could be a big ask.

Odds

Manchester United: 153-100

Draw: 23-10

Chelsea: 213-100

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

All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com.