While Chelsea and Manchester City slug it out at the top of the Premier League, Louis van Gaal’s Old Trafford revolution gathers ever more momentum in the red half of Manchester.
Man. United skipper Wayne Rooney celebrates a goal against Newcastle.Louis van Gaal endured a tricky start to his reign but seven wins in eight league games have put United hot on the heels of the pacesetters.
If the current United side can emulate the teams of Alex Ferguson who were renowned for a strong second half of the season, the Dutchman’s men could yet have their say in the destiny of the title.
United visit Tottenham Hotspur in a lunchtime kickoff today as the games continue to flow thick and fast over the festive period.
“The signs have been good in recent weeks,” midfielder Michael Carrick told the club website (www.manutd.com).
“We were bitterly disappointed not to win last week (at Aston Villa) but we beat Newcastle United and now have two big away games. They will be a good test for us to see where we are at.”
After the trip to Tottenham, Manchester United – seven points behind Manchester City and 10 adrift of Chelsea – are away at Stoke on New Year’s Day.
“We’re continuing to look up and will continue to try to catch them (City and Chelsea),” Carrick said.
“We’re not satisfied with third – it’s obviously an improvement and we’re getting better, but we want to keep looking up.”
Seventh-placed Tottenham have won three on the bounce with striker Harry Kane emerging as one of the stars of the season.
The England U-21 international’s first-minute strike in the 2-1 victory over Leicester on Friday took his tally to 15 in all competitions.
“We’ve built up some momentum now with some wins,” he said.
“United have picked up form. It’s going to be a tough game but we are confident at the minute. We’re ready for it.”
Chelsea make the trip south to face a fourth-placed Southampton side who appear to have got over their blip following a flying start to the campaign.
“We have found the belief again,” said Southampton manager Ronald Koeman after Saints followed up a 3-0 drubbing of Everton with a 3-1 success at Crystal Palace on Friday.
“We know Chelsea are strong. It will be a challenge.”
Manuel Pellegrini’s City will set a club record of 10 wins in succession in all competitions if they can take three points at home to Burnley.
Fixtures and standings
Playing today – 16.00
Premier League
Aston Villa-Sunderland
Hull-Leicester
Man. City-Burnley
Newcastle-Everton (17:15)
QPR-Crystal Palace
Southampton-Chelsea (15:05)
Stoke-West Brom
Tottenham-Man. United (13:00)
West Ham-Arsenal
Tomorrow:
Liverpool-Swansea (21:00)
Current standings
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Chelsea | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 40 | 13 | 45 |
| Man. City | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 39 | 15 | 42 |
| Man. United | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 33 | 19 | 35 |
| S’thampton | 18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 31 | 14 | 32 |
| West Ham | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 29 | 21 | 31 |
| Arsenal | 18 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 32 | 22 | 30 |
| Tottenham | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 24 | 24 | 30 |
| Swansea | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 19 | 28 |
| Liverpool | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 22 | 24 | 25 |
| Newcastle | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 23 |
| Stoke City | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 19 | 23 | 22 |
| Everton | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 27 | 28 | 21 |
| Aston Villa | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 22 | 20 |
| Sunderland | 18 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 16 | 27 | 19 |
| West Brom | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 18 | 26 | 17 |
| QPR | 18 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 21 | 34 | 17 |
| Hull City | 18 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 25 | 16 |
| C. Palace | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 20 | 30 | 15 |
| Burnley | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 27 | 15 |
| Leicester | 18 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 31 | 10 |
The Championship
Blackburn-M’Boro
Blackpool-Rotherham
Cardiff-Watford
Huddersfield-Bolton
Millwall-Bournemouth
N. Forest-Birmingham (13:00)
Reading-Norwich
Wolves-Brentford
Tomorrow:
Fulham-Brighton (21:00)
League One
Bradford-Notts County
Coventry-Chesterfield
Crawley-Colchester
Crewe-Preston
Gillingham-Bristol City
MK Dons-Walsall
Peterborough-Doncaster
Rochdale-Fleetwood
Sheffield Utd-Scunthorpe
Swindon-Port Vale
Tomorrow:
Barnsley-Oldham (20:45)
Yeovil-Oldham (20:45)
League Two
Accrington-Burton
AFC Wimbledon-Exeter
Bury-Mansfield
Carlisle-York
Cheltenham-Newport
Hartlepool-Morecambe
Luton-Portsmouth
Plymouth-Oxford
Shrewsbury-Wycombe
Southend -Dagenham
Stevenage-Cambridge
Tranmere-Northampton