Manchester United manager, Louis van Gaal, has insisted that he will see out his three year contract at the club, saying his supposed resignation to executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward was all rumours.
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Derby have lost all six meetings against Manchester United in the FA Cup – most recently a 4-1 fifth-round defeat in February 2009.
The Red Devils are fifth in the Premier League, five points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham as they aim to secure Champions League qualification for next season.
Derby County though have absolutely no pressure on them, with it all on Louis van Gaal’s side. How far do you think you can go in the FA Cup? The utter lack of goal scoring intent has been one of the main reasons why fans have been infuriated with Van Gaal. “Every time I went in to try and ask about it, he didn’t want to have the conversation”.
“They controlled the game in terms of possession and were clinical with their movement and finishing and overall deserved it”.
Wenger’s team are now challenging for the Premier League title, and BBC Sport analyst Shearer believes winning the FA Cup could also have a positive effect for both Van Gaal and United. “We want to win the FA Cup like everyone else in England”, he said.
“When your confidence is not so high, you can fight against it”, he said.
A defensive injury glut meant that there was an unfamiliar look to the visitors’ starting XI, with Guillermo Varela and 18-year-old Cameron Borthwick-Jackson at full-back, but the sharpness of United’s passing in the early stages belied their recent struggles.
“Maybe then you have written the truth”, said the 64-year-old.
Manchester United could be boosted by the return of Michael Carrick for Friday’s FA Cup fourth-round tie against Derby County, but full-back Matteo Darmian misses out. David Moyes does probably not think much of the United template and Van Gaal is not going to stay that long either, but cutting his losses does not seem to have occurred to Woodward, who has just sent out assurances that the Dutchman’s job is safe for the time being.
The last time Derby managed to get a win against the team was in 1897, when they played under the name of Newton Heath, the predecessors to the modern day Manchester United football club.
Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Manchester United have scored an average of 1.1 goals and conceded an average of 1.5 goals per game.
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Derby’s form must be a concern for Rams boss Paul Clement, without a win in five games, however this weekend the form does not matter.
