Clinical Manchester United leave Paul Lambert with uphill task at Stoke

Manchester United will be hoping to secure only their second win in five league games when they welcome Stoke to Old Trafford on Monday night.

Lambert’s managerial career began with Livingston and he coached Wycombe and Colchester before guiding Norwich to the Premier League with back-to-back promotions.

Dutch defensive duo Erik Pieters and Bruno Martins Indi are back in contention for the Potters and, should they come back into the side, it would represent a significant fillip for Stoke. United have now won three in a row after a dodgy period, while Stoke have more than enough to stay up; the question is whether Paul Lmavert is the man to extract if from them.

After bossing the early exchanges, United took the lead in the ninth minute as Valencia cuts in onto his left and curled the ball into the top right corner.

Kick-off at Old Trafford is at 8pm.

Antonio Valencia opened the scoring on his return from injury with a vicious strike.

Stoke will have a late fitness test for defender Ryan Shawcross, now suffering from a calf strain, while there are slight doubts on the fitness of Erick Pieters and Bruno Martins Indi.

Manchester United’s started 2018 with a solid run, registering wins over Everton and Derby County to kick off the campaign. Hughes was relieved of his duties at Stoke City about 9 days ago leaving the cub with a life after Hughes to ponder.

If those three players all return, only one Stoke player would be out through injury: Glen Johnson.

With Manchester United being linked to the capture of more players than most during the current transfer window, it’s one signature in particular which could prove the most beneficial. That loss sealed the end of Mark Hughes’ tenure as The Potters’ manager.

And Jesse Lingard has been in superb form as of late, scoring eight goals in his last 10 games.

United settled for a 2-2 draw against Stoke the last time out.

So which side should you back in the Manchester United-Stoke City game on Monday?