Manchester United will face
the worst defence in the Premier League on Saturday, which should have their
strike-force of Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial licking their lips in
anticipation.
Sunderland have conceded 49
goals so far this season — the main reason why Sam Allardyce’s side find
themselves in relegation trouble inside the bottom three.
Their record at the Stadium of
Light is not as troubling, with only 13 goals conceded on home turf to date.
But the Black Cats are
evidently vulnerable and Rooney and Martial will be looking to add to their
goal tallies as United bid to keep their prospects of Champions League
qualification alive.
They go into the weekend six
points off the top four under Louis van Gaal, whose position remains under
intense scrutiny following reports of an approach for Jose Mourinho to replace
the Dutchman as manager at Old Trafford.
Rooney, who scored one of the
goals in United’s comfortable 3-0 home win over Sunderland in September, has
netted seven times in his last eight games.
And while Martial has scored just once in seven games, the France international looks to be heading back towards top form and needs just one goal to reach double figures in his first season in England.
“The amount of ability he’s
got is huge. The potential is certainly there,” said Michael Carrick of
20-year-old Martial.
“It’s easy to forget the age
he is and how little football he’s actually played as well. To have such an
impact at this stage, with the expectations based on him and the way he’s dealt
with it, has been superb.
“His performances have been
very good. I think we have to understand that sometimes he might not be that
shining light and have days when it’s not quite happening for him, and that’s
understandable.
“But over time he’ll improve
and I’ve seen a big improvement already in this short time. Hopefully that
trend will continue and he’ll get better and better.”
– ‘We need six wins’ –
United have lost just one of
their last nine games, but conceded a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Chelsea
last Sunday that saw them slip six points behind Manchester City, who are
currently fourth.
Van Gaal’s side therefore have
little margin for error if they are to close the gap and with the top four
sides all playing each other this weekend, they must take advantage of dropped
points elsewhere.
Fit-again defender Phil Jones
could return after playing for United’s under-21s against Norwich City on
Monday, when striker Will Keane, 23, scored five times to stake his claim for a
place in the senior squad.
Sunderland go into the game
having sacked England international Adam Johnson on Thursday after the winger
pleaded guilty to child sex charges.
Sunderland have not beaten
United at home in the league for almost 19 years and Allardyce says they will
have to win more games in their final 13 matches than they have in their
previous 25 to have any hope of staying up.
Second-bottom Sunderland have
five league victories so far, but Allardyce believes it will take six more to
bridge the four-point gap to safety as they bid to extend their nine-season
stay in the top flight.
“We’re not quite into the
territory of having to win back-to-back matches at this stage,” said Allardyce,
whose side fought back to draw 2-2 at Liverpool last weekend.
“But looking at it, we need
six wins from our last 13 matches to get us to 38 points.”
Reference: ngrguardiannews
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