Derby Day Delight?

Manchester United take on Manchester City tomorrow in the seasons first Manchester Derby. The two North West heavyweights go head to head at Old Trafford with both teams in excellent league form. Manchester United having just battered Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park and Manchester City routing Bournemouth 5-1 at the Etihad. The encounter certainly looks to be a close one.

Dangerous Devils: United put four past City last time out

The last time the two sides met it was indeed the reds of Manchester who put in a devilish display against their 'noisy neighbours'. Goals from Ashley Young, Marouanne Fellaini, Juan Mata and Chris Smalling condemned the blues to a thumping 4-2 defeat, putting Manchester back in the red, for now at least. United went into the game as slight underdogs, however as this fixture rears its head back into view this term, the 20 time Premier League winners have been made slight favourites for this one, surely a sign of how far Van Gaal's team have come.

Former player and Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson is one man who believes City may fail at Old Trafford tomorrow: "I don't see United losing this one" The former Arsenal man told Sky Sports. "City are Just too open for my liking... They just go all out attack, which is fine against lesser teams but United will be solid and could then pick them off" Merson also predicted a 2-1 victory to United, currently in fourth place in the league.

United are certainly going into the game with alot of confidence in the league on the back of an emphatic 3-0 away win at Everton, with most fans and pundits alike claiming it to be the most complete performance of this United side under Van Gaal they'd seen so far. Van Gaal was also notably pleased with his teams win: "I'm very proud of the players, because it is a fantastic performance" 

Mata and Herrera check into the Lowry Hotel, Manchester

For Van Gaals men there were no new absences than ones already known, with Luke Shaw ruled out indefinitely along with Ashley Young and Paddy Mcnair unavailable. Their 18 man squad consisted of: De Gea, Romero, Valencia, Darmian, Smalling, Jones, Blind, Rojo, Shchneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Carrick, Herrera, Fellaini, Mata, Rooney, Martial, Memphis, Lingard. Jesse Lingard's inclusion in the squad is thought to be on the back of some impressive and promising displays away at both Everton and CSKA Moscow. 

Despite United drawing in Russia there were very promising signs, as they controlled the game from start to finish, despite looking vulnerable to the Russian counter attack. They'll certainly be hoping to control the game against City, however this will be no easy task, considering the strength of their midfield. We highlight Kevin De Bruyne to be the danger man for United tomorrow and they'll have to keep him quiet if they want any chance of winning the game. The Belgian has scored 5 goals in 9 games since joining Manchester City from Wolfsburg so United will indeed have to be wary of the former Chelsea mans abilities.

With such evenly matched teams coming together in what will surely be a tight clash, we couldn't resist but put together our own predicted United Starting XI: 

De Gea, Darmian, Jones, Smalling, Blind, Schneiderlin, Carrick, Mata, Martial, Herrera, Rooney

Hungry Herrera: The Spaniard certainly impressed in his last Manchester Derby

We feel Van Gaal might adopt a similar approach at the back as at Everton, by deploying Smalling and having Jones replace Blind, simply because Wilfried Bony, very much like Lukaku is a very physical forward and one might feel he'll target Blind should he play at Central Defence. Smalling and Jones certainly did a job on Evertons main man, can they do the same against City's? After a torrid time in Moscow, it's perhaps unlikely also to see Rojo feature at Left Back after he was certainly given the run around by Cska's forwards.Daley Blind is thought to be more suited to play here. 

Further up the pitch, Carrick will come in for Bastian Schweinsteiger after the German has started two consecutive games and may now be rested in order to preserve fitness, additionally Michael Carrick has superior experience to him in Derby games.After some fine displays in his last few games, the Frenchman Schneiderlin should retain his starting spot next to Carrick, whilst Juan Mata is thought to be recalled to the right side of midfield, with Anthony Martial on the left, to allow Wayne Rooney the lone strikers role.This leaves of course Ander Herrera to play just in behind him.                                                                                    

Despite having their two talismans David Silva and Sergio Aguero injured, Manchester City still have a side very much to be feared by Van Gaals men. Raheem Sterling hit Bournemouth with a hattrick last week and looks in fine form, along with Wilfried Bony who's scored 3 goals in his last 2 games for the Sky Blues. The midfield battle will certainly be entertaining tomorrow as both seem equally matched, it will be interesting to see which side can cease control from the other. 

All in all its shaping up to be a great game and a very even contest! We feel however United might just edge this one, but nothing can predict what may happen on the pitch.

We're going for a 2-1 home win.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Herrera Heading Home?

Reports over the past week have been certainly brewing transferwise, with Ander Herrera seeming to be one of the bigger names to be mentioned. It's believe Barcelona may be interested in bringing the midfielder back to spain, due to vulnerabilities in their squad with Messi, Iniesta and Rafinha injured. Herrera put in some stellar performances last season and certainly won over Reds fans, however with new midfield additions this term, it would seem that he may be in for quite a fight to start, in the middle of the park.

Hispanic connection: Herrera and Mata have a certain Chemistry in midfield

In his debut season, Ander Herrera scored 9 goals in 31 appearances and certainly became a favourite among United supporters. Herrera has been praised for adding a certain energy to a sometimes static and predictable midfield. When passing hasn't been as quick or as crisp as it should, he has certainly lead by example, seemingly always looking to play a forward ball. Playing alongside Juan Mata has certainly seen him excel and settle in quickly. It's certainly been noted that the two enjoy a certain chemsitry on the field of play, which only means trouble for opposition sides.

Despite the afore mentioned aspects of his game, which seem like necessities, as a midfield player for Manchester United, Louis Van Gaal didn't always have Herrera down as a regular starter in his first season. It would seem the Spaniard has fallen down the pecking order yet again this season, all be it to German maestro Bastian Schweinsteiger and French midfield battler Morgan Schneiderlin.

Many have called for Ander Herrera to be pushed into the number ten role behind the striker, however early on in the season, Van Gaal pointed out his reluctance to play him there. "I like a second striker in that position, rather than a third midfielder" The Dutchman told the press after Uniteds victory at Aston Villa. "He is more of a controlling midfielder". 

With this in mind, it would seem that Herrera is destined to be fighting for a one of the two central midfield spots that Van Gaal prefers to utilise. However to break into one of the two positions is no easy task. One would think that when Bastian Schweinsteiger is fit, he will always be picked because of his world class ability and wealth of experience. Other Midfielder players like Michael Carrick and Morgan Schneiderlin offer a little more in terms of Physicality, which is why they may be making the cut over him, as United are crying out for their holes in midfield to be covered.

Messi Missed? Barcelona are thought to struggle without their talisman

So where do the Catalans come into this? It is widely thought that they are monitoring the situation of the Manchester United midfielder due to injuries within their own squad to players like Lionel Messi, Rafinha and now Andres Iniesta. Certainly the players they've lost will test the depth of the squad, however it's thought the Catalan giants are looking to recruit in January to solidify their team, with Ander Herrera thought to be favourite.

In terms of how he plays, Ander Herra certainly fits the 'tika taka' bill that Barcelona have been so famous for. There have certainly been glimpses in his first season of Herrera initiating such elegant one and two touch football, most notably with compatriot Juan Mata. Renowned for playing with a midfield three, Barcelona might see Ander Herrera as a potential cog to slide into their system to play alongside the likes of Ivan Rakitic, Sergi Roberto and Sergio Bousquets. 

Despite him not always being at the top of LVG's list of starters, United legend Paul Scholes certainly has taken a liking to the man from Spain: "He looks like he's going to score goals, he looks like he's going to make goals" The former maestro told Irelands Newstalk radio, that he thought he'd been the best of last seasons signings, which included the likes of Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao.

 

 

Whether or not Barcelona are planning to intergate him into their first eleven remains to be seen. The issue could simply be that they're looking for players to fill in and cover for their stars when they're injured, like Iniesta, Rafinha and Messi are at the minute. However with Herrera's current situation of being third or fourth choice central midfielder at United, the lure of the European champions could be quite overwhelming and maybe hard to refuse. We at RedCentral and United fans alike certainly hope this scenario won't play out and that it's in fact just a rumour, but in the world of football you can just never be too sure.