Potential Manchester United XI vs Hull

Manchester United will look to close out the season in style as they prepare to take on relegation battlers Hull at the KP Stadium in Sunday’s curtain call for the Premier League season.

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Louis van Gaal revealed during Friday’s press conference that he intended to play his strongest possible team against Hull, who must win if they’re to have any chance of survival in the Premier League.

David De Gea is a doubt for the game, which could turn out to be his last for Manchester United, with a hamstring injury picked up in the draw against Arsenal last week. With De Gea unlikely to feature, former Barcelona stopper Victor Valdes is in line to make his first start of the season for the Reds.

Antonio Valencia has been the first-choice right-back for a large chunk of the season and is expected to end the season in that position once again. Rafael Da Silva has likely played his final game for Manchester United while Paddy McNair has struggled to impress in his most recent performances for the first-team.

At centre-back, Chris Smalling has become the leader that the side was missing at the start of the campaign. van Gaal named the England international as captain for last week’s clash at Old Trafford as Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Robin van Persie missed out and he didn’t disappoint as he once again led by example. His best partnership this season has arguably been alongside fellow England man Phil Jones. The former Blackburn defender has performed strongly alongside Smalling as United secured Champions League football at the first attempt and is likely to continue in that vein as the Reds look to end the season with 3 points and a clean sheet.

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At left-back, Marcos Rojo is likely to continue from his showing last week. Luke Shaw is still suffering from concussion and the Argentine had a good display before being substitute last week. With Daley Blind more than likely going to cover for the injured Michael Carrick in the holding midfield role, it makes Rojo the best option to fill in at left-back for the final day.

Alongside Daley Blind, the midfield picks itself. Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini have had terrific seasons at the club and both have been integral to the club returning the competition of Europe’s elite. Herrera’s seven goals this season have seen him cement his role in the side as the box-to-box option on the right of the midfield three, while Marouane Fellaini has played the advanced role to perfection for Louis van Gaal. Both are fit to play and both will start as they bring to an end their stellar campaigns.

Up front, Wayne Rooney will start. van Gaal has confirmed that the England and Manchester United captain will play after recovering from injury and with his favoured position as striker up for grabs it’s almost a certainty that he will start the game there.

Out wide, van Gaal has the option to change it. Ashley Young and Juan Mata have been in terrific form as of late but Adnan Januzaj and Angel Di Maria have been lacking in substantial game time in the latter part of the season. All four players are capable of performing to a high level against Sunday’s opposition and it’s more likely that van Gaal keeps it the same. With that said, Ashley Young was left out of the England squad as Roy Hodgson claimed he had an injury problem, which could see Angel Di Maria come into the side.

Youngsters like Ben Pearson, James Wilson and Tom Thorpe could be involved in some capacity throughout the day but that will become clearer once the Under 21’s game against Manchester City takes place on Saturday afternoon. Any of the players involved in that game are unlikely to feature for the senior side due to the travel demands but some fans are holding out hope that the Dutch boss could include one or two new faces.

Credit: sharemytactics.com

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