Without a victory from their last five outings in all competitions, Manchester United will look to return to winning ways when they play host to Norwich City at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
While the hosting Red Devils currently occupy one of the Champions League spots, the visiting Canaries are battling for survival at the other end of the table.
Man United
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Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson claimed yesterday that Jose Mourinho's sacking at Chelsea would have Louis van Gaal nervously looking over his shoulder.
While the official line coming out of United recently was that they still had every belief that the 64-year-old Dutchman is the right person to take the club forward, there can be little doubt that the pressure is on.
The 2-1 defeat at the hands of Bournemouth last time out has left Van Gaal's charges six points adrift of leaders Leicester City, while the club has already exited both the Champions League and the League Cup. Add in the fact that many fans have become disillusioned with the team's playing style and it becomes easier to see why all is not rosy in the Old Trafford garden at present.
Ahead of Norwich's visit, United can at least boast a respectable Premier League home record this term. Of their seven outings, none have been lost, although three draws is still considered to be too many. Goals have also been in short supply, with just nine being scored in the opposition's net.
To put that into context, the likes of West Bromwich Albion, Bournemouth and Newcastle United have all scored more home goals, while it is the same number of times that Norwich and Sunderland - both in the relegation zone - have found the net. As for neighbours Manchester City, they have plundered 25 goals at home.
On the flip side United have been particularly stingy in their North-West quarters, having had their net breached on just one occasion - Christian Benteke's acrobatic effort for Liverpool back in September. The next best home defensive record is Arsenal, who have shipped five goals.
The game against the Canaries is the first of four Premier League outings for United over the traditionally busy festive period - one that is likely to determine whether the 20-time champions of England are title contenders or not. It may also be a set of fixtures that decide Van Gaal's future.
Recent form: DWWDDL
Recent form (all competitions): WDDDLL
Norwich
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At the start of the season there would not have been a Norwich supporter anywhere in the world that would have turned down an offer of being just one point behind Chelsea after 16 matches.
That is exactly the scenario that the Norfolk outfit find themselves in, but unfortunately for them it has been a particularly disappointing campaign for the champions, who are remarkably just keeping their head above Norwich and the bottom three.
Newcastle United's surprise 2-1 win away at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend sent Norwich into the drop zone, although there are still some reasons to be optimistic.
Since the end of October Alex Neil's men have been on a run of tough fixtures, yet they have not been disgraced, even when losing. Slender defeats were suffered away at Man City and Chelsea, while score draws were collected from home encounters with Arsenal and Everton.
Talking of Neil, this is certainly uncharted waters for the 34-year-old. In his brief managerial career to date with Hamilton Academical and Norwich, the Scot has known nothing but an upward trajectory. Now, his qualities look as though they are going to be tested in a relegation battle.
"Then for the next two seasons I have been challenging to win leagues and promotions so this is very different, in terms of what I have been used to. You have to keep an even keel and I am really pleased at the progress we have made," he told reporters.
Recent form: LWLDLD
Team News
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There has been speculation that United skipper Wayne Rooney could be available for selection for this encounter.
The striker has missed his side's last three outings with an ankle complaint, but if reports are to be believed, he is in contention to feature against Norwich.
Chris Smalling and Ander Herrera are also said to be edging closer to a return from injury, but the game is likely to come too soon for Jesse Lingard and Matteo Darmian, both of whom sustained complaints in the loss at Bournemouth.
There will also be no Bastian Schweinsteiger for United as the German midfielder serves the second of his three-game suspension.
As for Norwich, young goalkeeper Declan Rudd is expected to keep his place in goal at the expense of experienced John Ruddy.
Man United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Varela, Smalling, Blind, Borthwick-Jackson; Schneiderlin, Carrick; Mata, Rooney, Depay; Martial
Norwich possible starting lineup:
Rudd; Wisdom, Martin, Bassong, Olsson; Redmond, O'Neil, Tettey, Brady; Hoolahan; Jerome
Head To Head
It would be fair to say that Norwich do not exactly enjoy making the trip to Old Trafford. After all, the men in yellow and green have not won there since August 1989.
More recently United have won the last four meetings between the two sides in all competitions, scoring 13 goals and conceding none.
During the last fixture involving the pair the home side ran out 4-0 victors as Rooney and Juan Mata helped themselves to braces in April 2014 - a game best remembered for marking the start of Ryan Giggs's temporary stint in charge of United.
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Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:
We say: Man United 1-0 Norwich
Man United are not pulling up any trees right now and despite some negative results of late, Norwich are not playing too badly. Having said that, it is almost unimaginable that United will go six matches without a win. It may not be very pretty, but Van Gaal's side should just edge this game.
Liam Apicella
