Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal does not believe Manchester City’s Champions League exit will have any bearing on the battle to finish in the top four.
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Asked if he expected Pellegrini’s side to experience any sort of hangover, Van Gaal said: “It’s dependable on the team and the way you recover in your head also”.
United’s most recent victory over the Norfolk club came at Old Trafford in April 2014, a 4-0 win as goals from Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata sealed the points for then caretaker manager Ryan Giggs after the sacking of David Moyes.
“We have to win our matches because otherwise we can not be in the first four – that’s the pressure that we have”.
Norwich kick off the weekend’s Barclays Premier League action on Saturday lunchtime, so could leave their rivals playing catch-up, with Sunderland at home to Chelsea while Newcastle travel to relegated Aston Villa. United are in their first FA Cup final for nine long years, and qualification for next season’s Champions League might still be possible if they can win their remaining three Premier League matches. These two bets I think are pretty safe and we are getting a pretty good price on them so I think placing larger bets is a good option here.
The Belgian midfielder, 28, was found guilty of violent conduct after elbowing Leicester City defender Robert Huth in the face during Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at Old Trafford and Van Gaal said he understood Fellani’s actions.
The game was certainly not a classic by any stretch of the imagination and a very forgettable first half ended at 0-0 with both sides struggling to create any clear cut chances. The Dutchman will get a £400,000 bonus if United win the FA Cup and a £5 million payoff if he is sacked at the end of the season. We doubt any of these games will be easy, but here’s hoping United do win both to keep fighting for that fourth-place trophy…
Manchester are on a five-match unbeaten streak.
“You can not regret your decisions”.
“I am, more or less, a Gunners fan tomorrow”, van Gaal said.
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“He (Smalling) was very important, of course, as he was playing against big strikers – Cameron Jerome and, after that, Dieumerci Mbokani”.
