So, slow Manchester United news week, huh? The Old Trafford outfit paid outgoing manager Jose Mourinho £15 million in severance pay when they terminated his contract on Tuesday, three years and one day to the date that he was sacked by Chelsea. Yes, “third season syndrome” is very expensive, as his managerial transition, with United also paying £1.8 million to Swedish side Molde in order to “loan” their manager.
That boss, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, is a United legend due to his days as a prolific scorer on the pitch. It’s also extremely coincidental that Solskjaer’s first match as interim boss comes at Cardiff City this weekend, as he led the Welsh side from January to September in 2014. His tenure there was disastrous, and United fans are certainly hoping that history doesn’t repeat itself.
Solskjaer is now tasked with trying to elevate United into the top four and thus secure a UCL slot for next season.
He’ll have to be a lot better than how he performed in the Wales capital city, where he lost 16 of the 30 games in which he managed the side, and won just five contests.
That said, let’s take a look at the fitness situation for both teams in this Saturday Premier League fixture. Red Devils defender Chris Smalling is likely out, due to a back injury that he suffered in warm-ups prior to the lopsided defeat at the hands of Liverpool last weekend. United defender Luke Shaw has been out of action since the draw against his former side, Southampton, on December 1.
Also, midfielder Scott McTominay has missed the last two. Forward Alexis Sanchez remains out long term with a hamstring injury.
Flipping over to the hosts, forward Danny Ward (knee) and defender Jazz Richards (hamstring) are likely out of commission for this one.
On the plus side however, defender Greg Cunningham, nursing a knock, could be healthy enough to feature in this one.
United vs Cardiff City FYIs
Kick-off: 5:30 pm (BST), 12:30 pm (EST), Saturday December 22, Cardiff City Stadium
Google Result Probability: Manchester United win- 60%, Draw 24%, Cardiff City win- 16%
Odds via Odds Shark: United win 100/167, draw 14/5, Cardiff City 5/1
United Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Prediction: United 3, Cardiff City 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.