Man United vs Cardiff live streaming: Watch Mata's debut on Jan 28, 2014

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer prepares for his first match as a manager at Old Trafford when his Cardiff side locks horns with defending champions Manchester United.

Preview: Mata set for Man United debut

A transfer you never thought could happen. Two time Chelsea player of the year Juan Mata finally sealed his move to the English champions. The transfer rounded off with Mata’s emotional farewell letter cited to Chelsea fans in which the Spaniard thanked the Blues fans for all their love and support.

He will now be showered with increasing love from the United fans who foresee the former Valencia man as the player who could turn their season around.

The Red Devils are currently 7th in the league table but the Spaniard has lauded Man United’s fighting spirit and has claimed that the 20 time league champions can still be in the mix of things come end of the season.

"To be honest, what I like most about Manchester United is the character," he told reporters.

"I think for other clubs to be in this position down in the league it would be very, very difficult for that club to come back and take first position. I think this club can do it.”

"This club is used to fighting until the end, to get the results they want, to show character, this is the real image I have of Man United, to fight for wins, to fight for titles, to come back always from difficult moments."

United come into this match at the back of a heart breaking exit when they crashed out of the Capital One Cup via penalties. Their last Premier League match also ended on a disappointing note as the Red Devils were humbled 3-1 by Chelsea.

However a top four finish is still very realistic for United who trail Liverpool by just six points. The arrival of Juan Mata will surely lift spirits in the Man United camp and we can surely expect resurgence in the coming weeks.

There is also good news for the Red Devils on the injury front with Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie in contention to be in the squad on Tuesday. The duo trained on Monday morning and could be fit for the home fixture against Cardiff.

Rooney suffered a groin injury earlier in the year in the match against Tottenham whereas Van Persie picked up a thigh problem during the Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk last month. Their return will give a timely boost to David Moyes who is desperately looking to turn things around after a string of unfavourable results.

The arrival of Mata may very well overpower the return of a Man United legend to Old Trafford for the first time since he announced his retirement in 2007. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spent 11 glorious years at Man United and during the period won 13 titles with the Red Devils.

However the Norwegian will keep his history with the club aside as he hopes to steal all three points from the English champions at their own backyard. The 40 year old arrived to Cardiff with a mission, which is to keep the Bluebirds in the Premier League.

And it has not been going all well for Solskjaer's side who have lost two of their last three matches in the league. Their 4-2 defeat at the hands of Man City in their last league outing sent them rock bottom in the league table. However they did record a 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

For the Welsh side to salvage anything out of their debut Premier League season they will have to drastically improve their away form. Cardiff have managed just a single victory in their 11 top flight travels this season.

Brazilian left back Fabio and Stoke City striker Kenwyne Jones have both joined Cardiff but are unlikely to feature in today’s match. However Jo Inge Berget who made his move from Molde earlier in the month is set for his Premier League debut, whereas Fraizer Campbell, Steven Caulker and Craig Noone are expected to return to the starting line-up.

Apart from Rooney and Van Persie, summer signing Marouane Fellaini has also returned to training but might not make it to the starting eleven. Rio Ferdinand (knee), Nani (hamstring) and Michael Carrick (ankle) are major doubts for the match whereas Nemanja Vidic will serve a two match suspension following his red card in the match against Chelsea.