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December 28, 2014

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United bandwagon gathers pace as Chelsea, City slug it out at top

Source: Agencies | December 28, 2014, Sunday | Print Edition

WHILE Chelsea and Manchester City slug it out at the top of the English Premier League, Louis van Gaal’s Old Trafford revolution gathers ever more momentum in the red half of Manchester.

The Dutchman 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 which were renowned for a strong second half of the season, Van Gaal’s men could yet have their say in the destiny of the title.

United visits 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.

“We were bitterly disappointed not to win last week (at Aston Villa) but we beat Newcastle and now have two big away games. They will be a good test for us to see where we are at.”

Wayne Rooney scored twice on Friday to set up the 3-1 win over Newcastle that tightened the 20-time champion’s grip on third place — seven points behind City and 10 adrift of Chelsea.

After the trip to Spurs, United is away at Stoke City 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 Spurs have won three on the bounce with striker Harry Kane emerging as one of the stars of the season, his first-minute strike in the 2-1 victory over Leicester City on Friday taking 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 makes the trip south to face a fourth-placed Southampton side which appears to have got over its 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,” the Dutchman added.

John Terry and Diego Costa scored as Chelsea beat West Ham United 2-0 on Friday to retain its three-point lead over City, which netted all of its goals in the first half in a 3-1 win at West Bromwich Albion played in a snowstorm.

Manuel Pellegrini’s City will set a club record of 10 wins in succession in all competitions if it can take three points today at home to Burnley, which gave a good account of itself but still lost 0-1 to Liverpool on Friday. The Reds built on their recent encouraging performances as Raheem Sterling’s second-half goal allowed Brendan Rodgers men to keep in sight of the top four.

Liverpool began its game at Turf Moor in its lowest Christmas position since 1992-93. But a change of formation to 3-4-3 has rejuvenated last season’s runner-up and it recovered from a slow start at Burnley to record a first victory in four matches, climbing to ninth and seven points behind Southampton.

Arsenal lies sixth after beating Queens Park Rangers 2-1 on Friday, with Alexis Sanchez making up for his saved penalty and teammate Olivier Giroud’s reckless red card for a head-butt with a goal and an assist at Emirates Stadium.

In the other games, Swansea City saw off Aston Villa 1-0; Stoke City beat Everton 1-0 and Hull City snapped a 10-game winless run by defeating Sunderland 3-1 to climb out of the relegation zone.

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