Manchester United News: Man Utd. vs QPR Preview
United to Play five debutants, who are slated as parts of the best eleven to start a new era under van Gaal.
This year's Premier League saw the worst start for Manchester United since the 2007-08 Premier League season. Louis van Gaal feels the pressure mounting as his team lost one and drew two of the first three matches in the Premier League. In addition, United suffered a humiliating 4-0 match against MK Dons during the Capital One Cup.
Amidst all the defeats, former players and fellow managers have criticized van Gaal for not signing the right players for the required positions. The midfield still looks vulnerable to attacks due to the lack of defensive midfielders in the team. Moreover, the fitness concerns still hover over the United ranks as eight of their first team players are injured. However, the match against Queens Park Rangers (QPR) on Sunday has provided van Gaal an opportunity to prove his critics wrong.
News from Old Trafford claim that all newly signed players will be available to make their debut for Sunday's game. Choosing players to include in the first team will be a daunting task as van Gaal now has a bench of first-class athletes to choose from. The players that will be sent to start the game depends on the formation van Gaal plays in the match. Hence, he can no longer get away with the excuse of not having world class players in his team.
Among the new signings, Luke Shaw, Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo are slated as the best contenders to play in the starting lineup. These players will provide control to United's defense line. Fans could expect up to five debuts in the match as van Gaal looks to start a new era under his reign.
Manchester United
Expected Eleven: De Gea, Rojo, Evans, Blind, Shaw, Mata, Di Maria, Da Silva, Falcao, Rooney, Van Persie
Substitution Choices: Lindegaard, Vermijl, Amos, W Keane, Thorpe, Rothwell, Januzaj, Anderson, Valencia, Fletcher, Pereira, Janko, Herrera
On the other hand, QPR looks a bit weak due to the injury of Joey Barton. He is going to have a late fitness test ahead of the match after sustaining a hamstring injury. Following the lead of United, QPR appears to be set to launch the debut of some of its players this weekend as well. QPR intends to give Sandro and Niko Kranjcar their first go on Sunday's match.
Queens Park Eleven
Expected Eleven Green, Isla, Caulker, Ferdinand, Hill, Phillips, Sandro, Kranjcar, Hoilett, Fer, Austin
Substitution Choices McCarthy, Murphy, Onuoha, Dunne, Yun, Traoré, Ehmer, Kranjcar, Phillips, Wright-Phillips, Taarabt, Vargas, Zamora