The Red Devils endured a frustrating outing when the two sides met in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. United held a comfortable 3-1 lead over their counterparts till the hour mark until the home side responded in emphatic fashion to score four goals in a space of 19 minutes to record an impressive 5-3 victory over the most successful club in the country.
Van Gaal's men must ensure they avoid such an upset if they are to finish this season in the top four considering the fierce competition which exists in the Premier League for the Champions League spots. Juan Mata has insisted that Man United must make it a point they stay focused regardless of the opposition.
“It is going to be a fight until the end and not just between two teams, it will be between three, four, five teams,” he told reporters.
“This is our main objective for this season, to play Champions league football again because I think this club should always play in the Champions League.
“It’s very important – not just to win the games against your big rivals, but also the weaker teams. If you want to be in the top four at the end of the season, you have to win almost every game.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Leicester City or Manchester City. We have to go into the games trying to win. The next six or seven games are very important to get to a crucial moment in the season.”
United have fared poorly in recent games and were unable to get the better of league two side Cambridge as the match ended in a 0-0 stalemate. They weren't particularly impressive against QPR and suffered a 1-0 defeat against Southampton before that which means that Van Gaal and his men have a lot to work on.
Leicester are currently rock bottom in the league table however their form has improved in recent weeks. The Foxes enjoyed an incredible outing in their last fixture as they picked a 2-1 win over Tottenham in a FA Cup match.
Man United will be without Ashley Young who will continue to nurse his hamstring injury whereas Michael Carrick has been ruled out for a month with a muscle rupture. Leicester on the other hand can welcome back Liam Moore (ankle) and Matthew Upson (foot) but have lost Chris Wood who has suffered an ankle injury. Riyad Mahrez on the other hand is on international duty with Algeria.
Manchester United vs Leicester City team sheets
Man Utd's lineup: De Gea, Valencia, Jones, Rojo, Shaw, Blind, Januzaj, Di Maria, Rooney, van Persie, Falcao.
Leicester's lineup:Schwarzer, Simpson, Wasilewski, Morgan, De Laet, Drinkwater, King, Vardy, Kramarić, Schlupp, Ulloa.
Man Utd's bench: Valdes, McNair, Smalling, Fellaini, Herrera, Mata, Wilson.
Leicester's bench: Hamer, Konchesky, Upson, Hammond, Albrighton, Cambiasso, Nugent.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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