Manchester United will be without Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones, Daley Blind and Michael Carrick as they seek to cause an upset at league leaders Chelsea on Saturday.

United dispatched relegation-threatened Aston Villa in confident fashion at Old Trafford, with a Ander Herrera double and a sublime Wayne Rooney strike sealing a 3-1 triumph to lift Van Gaal’s team into third.

Juan Mata notched either side of half time to put the Manchester United into a commanding lead at Anfield, though ten-man Liverpool – who had substitute Steven Gerrard sent off in the first minute of the second half – did pull one back through Daniel Sturridge.

Van Gaal, who is 63 years old, says his age and spending more time with his family are the two pressing reasons for his retirement once he leaves Manchester United.

Manchester United’s 3-0 battering of Tottenham has led coach Louis van Gaal to say he believes the Red Devils are capable of overtaking local rivals Manchester City.

Despite winning five of their last seven games, Manchester United have come under pressure for their laboured, under-par performances in recent weeks, culminating in the Arsenal loss at Old Trafford.

In 1995 Wayne Rooney’s boyhood club Everton beat his current employers and ever since the FA Cup has been a source of fascination for the England striker.

Wayne Rooney insists that Manchester United cannot afford to look past their game at Newcastle United tonight after boss Louis van Gaal admitted they were in a ‘rat race’ for Champions League qualification.

Despite a fast start to Premier League life following his £59million move to Old Trafford from Spanish giants Real Madrid, Argentine Angel Di Maria has struggled to adapt to the physical demands of English football.

With a manager as confident in his own abilities as he is in his team’s potential, everything seems rosy at Old Trafford though in reality Man Utd are close to boring people to tears.

United were beaten 2-1 in south Wales on Saturday, with goals from Ki Sung-yeung and Bafetimbi Gomis cancelling out Ander Herrera’s earlier strike.