DERBY, Sporting Alert – Manchester United enter Friday’s FA Cup 4th round clash with Derby County at iPro Stadium as the favourite, but no one would be surprised if the Red Devils were to lose.
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The English Premier League outfits have been inconsistent this season under Louis van Gaal with several of the club supporters even calling for the Dutchman to be sacked.
Given the amount of money splashed out in transfer fees and the quality of talents that will be on display for Manchester United, you would expect the EPL side to win this contest with ease.
However, the style of football the Old Trafford outfits have been outputting under Van Gaal has not been appreciated by the club supporters and you cannot help be think they would be happier if Manchester United were to lose so the club would hurry up and get rid of the Dutchman.
Meanwhile, in team news heading into the contest, Van Gaal has named midfielder Michael Carrick in his travelling squad for this FA Cup fourth-round trip to Derby.
Carrick missed four games with a knee injury, but the experienced England holding midfielder is now available again and is expected to feature in some part.
Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia, Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw, Matteo Darmian, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Phil Jones are still out.
In the meantime, Derby are still without long-term absentee Will Hughes as the talented midfielder continues to recover from a knee injury.
New recruit Marcus Olsson, who recently signed from Blackburn Rovers, is eligible having not featured in the competition for his previous club and could make his debut in the home battle.
Last time out for Manchester United, they were beaten 1-0 in the English Premier League by Southampton, while for Derby, they come in on the back of a 4-1 hammering in the Championship at Burnley on Monday.
Derby enter this battle, having lost each of their last six FA Cup battles against Manchester United and have been on the receiving end as well — conceding 19 goals during that time, at an average of 3.2 goals per contest.
