Stoke vs Manchester United preview: Louis van Gaal in the hot seat

A look ahead to the Premier League fixture at Britannia Stadium

(Getty Images)

It’s a big game for…

Louis Van Gaal: The Manchester United manager, who stormed out of his own press conference on Wednesday, is in the hot seat at the moment, following his team’s poor run of form that hasn’t seen them win a game since 21 November against Watford. With his Chelsea counterpart Jose Mourinho having been fired by Chelsea this past weekend, could Van Gaal be out of a job if he fails to secure good results against Stoke or Chelsea?

Best Stat…

12: Manchester United have won 12 of the 15 fixtures the two sides have played since Stoke’s promotion to the Premier Leagues after the 2007-08 season, with Stoke only winning one of those fixtures, and the other two games ending in a draw.

Remember when…

United scored two goals in two minutes to recover from 2-1 down and snatch a 3-2 victory in October 2013. Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez scored in the 78th and 80th minutes to secure the victory.

Player to Watch…

Jack Butland: Despite conceding a late winner last week against Crystal Palace, the Stoke goalkeeper has been in impressive form of late, keeping a clean sheet in six of the last eight games. With United boasting strikers Anthony Martial and Rooney, both of whom have scored seven goals each this season, this may be a key clash in the outcome of this game.

Past three meetings…

Stoke 1 (Shawcross) Manchester United 1 (Falcao), Premier League, January 2015

Manchester United 2 (Fellaini, Mata) Stoke 1 (N’Zonzi), Premier League, December 2014

Stoke 2 (Carrick [og], Adam) Manchester United 1 (Van Persie), Premier League, February 2014

Form Guide…

Stoke: WLWWDL

Manchester United: DDDLLL

Vital Information…

Kick-Off Time: 12:45pm

TV: Sky Sports 1, Highlights on BBC 1, 10:30pm