After a season straight out of the fevered imagination of a movie scriptwriter, Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri is asking his men to seal their “once in a lifetime” Premier League triumph on Sunday with a Hollywood flourish at Old Trafford.
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But Van Gaal insists it’s nothing to be embarrassed about for a United side which has never seriously threatened to win its first title since 2013 as they scramble for a top-four finish and Champions League football.
Ranieri’s side have the eyes of the world on them as they head to Old Trafford knowing a victory against United would see the 5 000-1 outsiders crowned champions for the first time in their 132-year history.
The win would emulate something Arsenal did in 2002 when they travelled to Old Trafford and effectively won the title with a goal from Sylvain Wiltord.
United boss Van Gaal is expected to field the same starting 11 as the one that beat Everton in the semi-finals of the FA Cup last weekend.
Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick have both won the Premier League five times with United; Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young have all won it at least once, while Bastian Schweinsteiger, Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo, Marouane Fellaini and Memphis Depay have been title winners overseas.
“It is good we are doing something special”, Ranieri said Friday.
To make it sweeter, it’s could be at the home of the most successful team of the Premier League era: Manchester United.
Let us know who you think will win the game by casting your vote in the poll below! “Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, they have been the champions once, or maybe a couple of times”.
“We have to fight a lot”, said the Leicester manager. “Hopefully we can beat Leicester City”.
Shaw has not made a single first-team appearance since September, when he sustained a gruesome double leg fracture following a robust challenge from Hector Moreno just 15 minutes into a 2-1 Champions League defeat away at PSV Eindhoven. “I don’t tell my players to stay calm, I say, “stay hungry”.
While they may not have inserted a league winning clause into their own contracts, the Leicester players are also set to benefit from the teams fairytale season.
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“When I was mentioned as the coach it was also about that”.
