This is where managers earn their wage. Forget about having a fully fit team, with superstar players and then having the nerve to call yourself a master tactician. It's when those injuries pile up like a stack of Tony Montana's dollar bills that we separate the experts from the puny amateurs. That's what King Louis is going through as he tries to keep up the momentum for United.
Luke Shaw as we all know has the long term layoff, but now Rojo is out of town with a harmstring. This means Van Gaal will have to put Ashley Young in that left back position since there is no one else. That is both good and bad for Mr. Young. The plus side is actually getting to play as Depay's arrival has meant his not been automatically penned in for the first team. But although he now has some playing time, he's got to be content with not being in his natural position. I'm not too sure how well it can work because you need to know how to defend to play that position well. Valencia has done okay as a right back, but not great, because it's not where he is accustomed to.
United will be tested. They should really take Sunderland out of the ring before the sound of the second bell. With Martial Law in freescoring form, I expect United to overcome their losses and not allow Young to be exposed in that left back area which Sunderland will exploit to its full extent. With City also slipping up and Chelsea trying to regain their mojo, Van Gaal wants to keep up racking those points with the spotlight not on them.
It's the quiet and sneaky ones that you need to be weary of.
