All Your Living Needs Manchester United Holiday Special 2014 Ole Ole Ole and Welcome to All Your Living Needs, Im your host Johno and this is the Holiday Special where we’re going to talk about the upcoming games against Newcastle,Tottenham,and Stoke City. First up Manchester United vs Newcastle United. Manchester United drew with Aston Villa 1-1 last time out. Notably left out of the start for United were James Wilson and Adnan Januzaj while midfield trio Marouane Fellaini, Ander Herrera and Daley Blind missed out due to injuries. Despite heading into the game on a six match winning run against an out of sorts Aston Villa, Manchester United knew that the clash would be a tough battle and it certainly proved to be the case. The game lacked quality during the early proceedings and although United were slightly the better team, there was very little in terms of chances created by both sides in the opening 15 minutes. On the 17th minute though, the game finally sparked to life as a sweet Robin van Persie volley was saved by Brad Guzan, while at the other end just seconds later, United goalkeeper David De Gea pulled off a smart stop to deny Andi Weimann. With both teams looking unconvincing in the attack, it seemed like only a moment of genius would offer a breakthrough which came in the 18th minute for Aston Villa. The goal certainly shocked United and they found it difficult to respond. Following the break, van Gaal made a tactical switch by replacing Darren Fletcher with Tyler Blackett, and the move seemed to have the desired effect as United looked a much better side early on in the second half. United managed to equalize in the 53rd minute as Falcao emphatically headed the ball in after receiving a fine cross from Young. Following the goal, United certainly had the momentum and van Gaal brought in Angel Di Maria for van Persie in the 63rd minute to add more pace into his attack. Then to give further incentive for United to push on for the win, Villa striker Gabriel was shown a red card for his tackle on Ashley Young on the 65th minute. Handing United an advantage, which should have allowed them to claim a victory. Much to the frustration of van Gaal, United failed to create anything of note despite the red card advantage. At the end, United had to settle for a draw. The formation against Villa on paper looked like a 5-3-2, but during the game – one could see that United lined up in a 3-4-2-1 system. Given van Gaal’s propensity to keep on changing his tactics, it will be difficult to gauge which formation the Dutch manager will elect to go with against Newcastle United on Boxing Day. With the return of Di Maria, van Gaal may elect to return to a diamond 4-1-2-1-2 formation and it would certainly suit the players currently at his disposal. The backline will probably consist of Phil Jones, Jonny Evans, Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia while Michael Carrick should move into midfield. Juan Mata and Angel Di Maria look the most likely options in the wide positions and the three pronged attack consisting of Falcao, Rooney and van Persie should start again. Newcastle United were cruelly beaten 1-0 by bitter rivals Sunderland in the Tyne–Wear derby last time out, at the final minute Adam Johnson’ goal broke the Magpies’ hearts. United’s performance against Aston Villa last time out was poor but Louis van Gaal will be hoping that the display was a minor aberration rather than a deep rooted problem. Therefore, van Gaal will most certainly demand his side to bounce back with a victory against Newcastle United on Boxing Day. Despite their recent slump, Newcastle are by no means easy opponents and United will have to put in a much more improved performance than they did against Villa in order to claim the victory. The match will be a fascinating affair between two good sides but United should be able to claim the three points on the day due to their stronger squad overall. Tottenham Hotspur recently claimed a hard fought 2-1 win over Burnley at home, with Harry Kane and Erik Lamela guiding Spurs to victory by scoring in the 22nd and 36th minute respectively. Following the clash against Newcastle United, Manchester United prepare for arguably the toughest match of their festive schedule as they square off against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Sunday. Tottenham endured a tough start to the season but are beginning to gather momentum in recent times. Therefore the clash will most certainly be a difficult test for United. United have failed to beat Spurs in their last four meetings but with van Gaal now in charge, the Red Devils will probably head into the clash with the belief that they can rectify the record. The match will be a close one but United should be able to claim a victory if they play to their full potential. It has been a bit of a rollercoaster season for Stoke City so far and they currently find themselves in mid table following a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea on Monday night.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 23:01:38 +0000
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