Under fire coach, Louis van Gaal will throw every­thing into the ring to lift the pressure off his neck as they face Chelsea at the Theatre Dreams, Old Trafford in an encounter that is a must win for both sides.
But Chelsea’s road to re­covery following the depar­ture of Jose Mourinho may not have had the smoothest of starts after the club drew 2-2 with Watford on Boxing Day, but the Blues will still arrive to their clash against Manchester United in high spirits knowing their oppo­nents are enduring a tough time.
While Guus Hiddink’s side salvaged a point against the Hornets on Sat­urday, Louis van Gaal’s team lost their fourth suc­cessive game in all compe­titions against Stoke City – a 2-0 defeat that resulted in the Dutchman raising the prospect he could leave the club rather than wait to get sacked.
United, who remained in the hunt for the title until recently, now found them­selves in sixth place in the Premier League standings although their woes this sea­son remained nothing when compared to the problems at champions Chelsea this term.
The Blues currently sit in 15th place in the stand­ings – just two points off the relegation zone – after suf­fering their worst start to a campaign since the 1978-79 campaign, which ended up costing Jose Mourinho his job.
His successor, Hiddink, may have come in and done a superb job in 2009 follow­ing the sacking of Luiz Fe­lipe Scolari, but the Dutch­man has a tough job on his hands as he now takes the team to Old Trafford with­out Diego Costa, who will be suspended for the game.
And what will perhaps make things a bit more nervy for the United play­ers ahead of the game is the fact that Chelsea se­cured a 1-0 victory the last time these two sides met in April thanks to Eden Hazard’s strike while their meeting at Old Trafford ended 1-1 following goals from Robin van Persie and Didier Drogba.