Norwich vs. Manchester United: Team News, Live Stream, TV Info, Ticket News

Paul AnsorgeMay 6, 2016

Having had a hand in the outcome of the Premier League title race on Sunday, Manchester United travel to East Anglia to face Norwich City on Saturday with a chance to make an impact on the relegation battle.

Louis van Gaal claimed he wanted "revenge" on Alex Neil's charges for their 2-1 win at Old Trafford in December, per Simon Bajkowski and Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News. And, of course, United are not just in this game to act as spoilers for Norwich. They need the points.

TOP NEWS

Real Madrid CF v Girona FC - LaLiga EA Sports

Bleacher Report1w

Real Betis V Real Madrid - Laliga Ea Sports

Bleacher Report1w

If Manchester City fail to beat Arsenal on Sunday and United win their three remaining league games, they would earn a spot in next season's UEFA Champions League playoffs.

For Norwich, the prize of victory is even greater. They sit two points from Premier League safety in 19th place with a game in hand over Newcastle United, who are in 17th. Between them sit Sunderland, who have played the same number of games as Norwich but have a point more and considerably better goal difference (minus-18 to Norwich's minus-26).

A loss against United would not seal the Canaries' fate, but it would be a hammer blow in their desperate scrap for survival.

Neil had a simple message when speaking to Norwich City TV (h/t the club's website): "It comes no bigger than this, it really is crunch time now. There is no room for excuses, we've got to go out and do the job."

Date: Saturday, 7 May

Time: 12.45 p.m. BST/7.45 a.m. ET

Venue: Carrow Road, Norwich, England

TV Info: BT Sport 1(UK Only)/NBCSN (U.S. only)

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

Form Lines

Norwich City: DWWLLL

Manchester United: LWWWWD

Team News

Norwich will be without Timm Klose and Andre Wisdom, who have knee injuries, and Alex Tettey is absent with an ankle problem. All three are "set to miss the remainder of the season," per the club's website. The website also reported that Neil said of Ryan Bennett:

"
[He is] struggling at the moment so I'm not quite sure how he's going to be.
He trained for one day at the end of last week and we hoped he was going to be available for the Arsenal match, but he took a turn for the worse.
We'll need to wait and see. It will be a real last-minute call, it will be determined by how Ryan is feeling and how he feels he can approach the game if he can.
"

Marouane Fellaini has a three-match ban as a result of his altercation with Robert Huth when United played Leicester City at Old Trafford on Sunday, per BBC Sport. The same source also reported that "long-term absentees Bastian Schweinsteiger and Luke Shaw remain sidelined."

Van Gaal told MUTV (h/t the club's website): "We have to assess the tiredness of the players because there’s an overload of matches, so maybe I have to rotate."

Predicted Lineups

Joe Devine of uMAXit Football, a Norwich supporter, suggested the above starting XI for Neil's men.

He feels Neil may opt for the more defensively minded Matthew Jarvis in place of Nathan Redmond, but given Norwich need a win and the game is at home, Redmond should get the nod. Elsewhere, Devine said there is the possibility of a place for Cameron Jerome over Dieumerci Mbokani. Steven Naismith could be preferred to Wes Hoolahan.

Even if he is not, the former Everton man is likely to make an appearance as a substitute.

There is no need for the United manager to change formation because of Fellaini's absence. Indeed, Juan Mata and Wayne Rooney were effective as advanced midfielders against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on 20 April. Of course, Van Gaal being Van Gaal, there is every chance that Mata will play wide on the right with Jesse Lingard through the middle.

Elsewhere, with the promise of rotation, Michael Carrick should get a rest in favour of Morgan Schneiderlin—it appears Carrick is first choice here in the big games and will thus probably be saved for the West Ham United game on Tuesday.

The above lineup also suggests a rest for Marcus Rashford, with the on-fire Anthony Martial playing centrally and Memphis Depay playing wide on the left. That is, of course, speculative, but it would serve as an opportunity to rest Rashford and give Memphis some much-needed minutes.

The full-backs are the only other selection dilemma for the manager. Marcos Rojo has looked out of form for the past few weeks, but Van Gaal has not acted thus far, so there seems little reason to assume he will now.

Players to Watch

Hoolahan has been Norwich's most potent creative force this season. He leads their assist charts by some margin with eight in the league—twice as many as Jonny Howson in second. He is also making an average of 2.1 key passes per 90 minutes of league football this season. That is more than anyone in United's side who has made more than five appearances.

Elsewhere, the threat of Robbie Brady and Redmond on each flank needs to be taken seriously. Redmond is Norwich's joint-leading scorer in the league (five), and Brady is averaging just under two successful crosses per 90 minutes of Premier League action. To put that into context, his 59 total accurate crosses is 29 more than United's leading cross provider for the season, Daley Blind.

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 30: Robbie Brady of Norwich City is closed down by Hector Bellerin of Arsenal during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Norwich City at The Emirates Stadium on April 30, 2016 in London, England (Photo by Mike He

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Only Dimitri Payet and Mesut Ozil have managed more across the whole division.

As for United, he has been the choice week after week, but Martial is in superb form. He has five goals and two assists in his past nine starts and two goals and assists in his past two games. He has been United's attacking player of the season by a mile and remains the best reason to watch the Red Devils, both in terms of excitement and goal threat.

Key Battle

Norwich's left flank will see Martin Olsson in support of Brady, meaning a busy day for United right-back Antonio Valencia but also the potential for space to exploit. That could favour a role for Lingard on United's right, given he is more suited than Mata to both tracking back and using space on the counter-attack.