Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is weighing up his options in attack due to the absence of Robin van Persie through injury - and has discussed his preference for pairing right- and left-footed players up front as well as in defence.
The Dutchman has to replace his top scorer for the Old Trafford encounter against Sunderland after van Persie was ruled out with an ankle injury. Radamel Falcao and James Wilson are obvious candidates, while Wayne Rooney has played as a striker for the past two fixtures after a spell in midfield and Marouane Fellaini is another alternative. Speaking on the eve of the Black Cats clash, van Gaal indicated his thoughts on the forward line are similar to his previously declared views on the defence - that it's preferable to have one player who's strongest on the left foot and a partner who favours the right.
When asked if Falcao could play alongside Wilson, van Gaal said: "It is a process between players. When Falcao is used to playing with van Persie then, when he plays with Wilson, he starts another process. That's why I started with Falcao and van Persie. Now maybe is the time to start a process between Falcao and Wilson. They haven't played so much together, I believe once or twice. You can see that Wilson is also left-footed like van Persie and Falcao is right-footed. I have used Rooney as the right-footed striker and Wilson as a left-footed striker, that is why I kept these four players at the start of the season. I expect, in theory, it is like that but, in practice, we have to wait and see."
Of course, it will only be confirmed who the manager has selected in attack or indeed any area of his team at 14:00 GMT on Saturday, when the line-up will be announced on ManUtd.com and on Twitter (@ManUtd).
