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Manchester United vs. Stoke City: Lineups

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Alex Livesey

David de Gea starts in goal for Manchester United and Antonio Valencia returns to the side, while Shinji Kagawa misses out through injury.

Sir Alex Ferguson has given a huge vote of confidence to David de Gea by selecting him to face Stoke City as the two sides clash at Old Trafford.

There had been suggestions that Ferguson would, as he has in the past, prefer Anders Lindegaard in goal to counter Stoke's aerial threat, with question marks over De Gea's ability to deal with crosses, but the United boss has opted to put the Spanish keeper in the firing-line.

Elsewhere for United, Shinji Kagawa misses out through injury, and the diamond formation which had brought recent success has been abandoned for what appears to be a straightforward 4-4-2, Antonio Valencia returning to take his place on the right wing.

Stoke, meanwhile, opt for a 4-5-1 formation with Peter Crouch up front alone and Jonathan Walters and Michael Kightly on the wings. Ryan Shawcross also returns to the team as captain.

Manchester United (4-4-2): David De Gea; Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans, Rafael; Danny Welbeck, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Antonio Valencia; Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie.

Stoke City (4-5-1): Asmir Begovic; Geoff Cameron, Ryan Shawcross, Robert Huth, Marc Wilson; Jonathan Walters, Dean Whitehead, Steven Nzonzi, Charlie Adam, Michael Kightly; Peter Crouch.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

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