Reports last week claimed that Van Gaal would pay with his job were United to lose either of their festive double-header fixtures against Stoke and Chelsea, with the available Jose Mourinho believed to be readying himself to take charge.
With all of that in mind, the clash against the Blues is likely to be Van Gaal’s last chance to ensure that he will stay the manager of United as we head into 2016.
As far as confidence and form goes, Van Gaal’s men could not be in a much worse state. Only Southampton and bottom-placed Aston Villa have collected less points in the last six Premier League games, while the defeat at Stoke means that United have lost four competitive games in a row for the first time since 1961.
Defensively, things have been a little shaky of late, yet United can still boast the division’s joint-second best record in terms of goals conceded, shipping 16 times.
The post-Mourinho era got off to a winning start against Sunderland and while the 2-2 draw on Boxing Day with Watford at Stamford Bridge did highlight some of the frailties that remain, the Blues did at least appear to be more of an organised and enthusiastic unit under the returning Hiddink’s stewardship.
The main plus to come from that Watford game was the performance of Diego Costa, who seemed to sulk his way through the last few weeks of Mourinho’s tenure. Not only did he score both of Chelsea’s goals, he made more sprints than any other player on the pitch.
But, in true Costa fashion, a wild sliding challenge on visiting defender Craig Cathcart earned the Spanish striker his fifth booking of the season and rendered him suspended for the trip to Manchester.
Despite having picked up four points from their last two outings, the West Londoners remain in a lowly 15th position and are just two points above the drop zone. While bookmakers are still offering long odds of around 50-1 that the unlikely will actually happen and the champions are relegated, Hiddink’s immediate task is centred around getting the club out of the mire.