The stakes are at their highest now for Louis Van Gaal and Manchester United. They've now lost their last three matches in all competitions and have unable to win in the league since November. If he's not in win-or-get-fired territory yet, Van Gaal is teetering right on the edge of it. Manchester are getting healthier, but their form has been so mediocre lately that they'll need to turn things around strongly if they're going to come out victorious in a trip to Stoke.
Manchester have been fairly decent on the road this season before this run of poor form, and Stoke have just been okay at home. But that recent form changes things. Stoke have won two of their last three matches at home and have been a much tougher team overall of late, while Manchester have, well, put Van Gaal's job in jeopardy. This isn't going to be anywhere near an easy match for Manchester to win -- Stoke were going to put up a fight no matter what, but under the current circumstances, that fight will be all the harder.
Key player -- Marko Arnautovic (Stoke City)
Arnautovic has long been a fairly underrated player, but this season it's been hard to overlook him. The tricky Austrian has been a menace on the left, scoring five goals and slipping by pretty much every marking scheme Stoke's opponents have thrown at him. Even when he's not scoring goals, Arnautovic draws extra attention that his fellow attackers can exploit, and that's worth a lot in a high-pressure game like this.
Key matchup -- Bojan Krkic (Stoke City) vs. Morgan Schneiderlin (Manchester United)
Krkic has been on an impressive run this season. He's scored four goals while routinely standing as one of the most consistent threats in Stoke's attack. The Spaniard has bounced back from last year's season-ending knee injury with aplomb and his runs from behind the striker have been disruptive all season long. It's going to be up to Schneiderlin to keep those runs from happening, or at least try and shepherd them away from dangerous areas of Manchester's defense.
Stoke City injuries and suspensions
Out: Stephen Ireland, Marc Muniesa, Geoff Cameron, Peter Crouch, Peter Odemwingie, Shay Given
Manchester United injuries and suspensions
Out: Jesse Lingard, Marcos Rojo, Antonio Valencia, Luke Shaw In doubt: Matteo Darmian
Match Date/Time: Sat., 7:45 a.m. ET, 12:45 p.m. local
Venue: Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent, England
TV: NBCSN (US - English), NBC Universo (US - Spanish), TSN 1, 3 (Canada), Sky Sports 1 (UK)
Online: NBC Sports Live Extra (US), Sky Go (UK), TSN (Canada)
Listings via LiveSoccerTV.
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