Louis van Gaal revealed that Robin van Persie and Luke Shaw will both miss the Manchester derby for Manchester United at Old Trafford this weekend.
The Dutchman revealed that the players have both recovered from injury but are lacking match fitness.
Van Gaal also insisted that facing the defending champions is a "special" match for his side.
Read what else the manager discussed below.
Good afternoon! It's a big weekend for Manchester United as they host Manchester City in the Manchester derby on the Sunday. Ahead of his first home derby since taking over at Old Trafford, Louis van Gaal will be speaking to the media shortly.
Some big news has already emerged from the club's training ground though as Robin van Persie has been ruled out of the match, despite returning to training earlier this week. It has been seven weeks since the Dutch international injured his ankle.
It's been a little while since the red side of Manchester got to laud it over their blue neighbours, with their last league win over the current champions coming at the Etihad in December 2012. City have won four derbies in a row since then, including a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture earlier this season.
With City losing to Crystal Palace earlier this week, United have moved above their local rivals in the table, and can open up a four-point gap between themselves and Manuel Pellegrini's side with victory this weekend.
Make sure you join us on Sunday afternoon to find out if United can end their losing streak against City. We'll have loads of build up, plus team news, live coverage and post-match reaction.
Here's a short clip of the squad going through their training drills in the sunshine at Carrington earlier today:
See #mufc at work in preparation for the derby...
https://t.co/mTVfzCvbgs
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 10, 2015
Right then, the manager is ready to get underway, so let's see what he has to say...
Van Gaal starts by talking about his potential lineup for this match, telling reporters: "Never change a winning team is an English expression, but I always have my eyes open. It's also an obligation to the substitutes that you have to compare players."
The manager admits that he'll consider the opponents when picking his team: "You have to see also the quality of your opponent and you make a decision with the staff I have."
Sticking with team selection, he adds: "It's not always about never changing the team. I'm always confident because I believe in my team."
Van Gaal said during the week that Angel di Maria is pushing for a return to the starting lineup, and he reiterates: "Not only Angel, but every player who is training in the first squad are pushing because they want to do their utmost."
The manager reveals a bit about the team's training programme: "I played 11 versus 11 today and the team in white was very good. The white team was not the basic lineup, so they are pushing always and I like that. I said that to all of them, that I like the fighting spirit of every one of them."
On the importance of securing a derby win for the club's supporters, Van Gaal says: "Of course I dream of it, every player shall dream of it."
Turning his attention to the squad's fitness, the manager reveals: "Most of the players are fit, but fit for me is different. Van Persie isn't fit enough to play, Shaw isn't either. I cannot say they are not fit, but they are not fit to play."
Van Gaal insists that finishing third in the league would be a success: "When you win, the third place is now reachable, which months ago you all said was impossible. If we finish third, we are securely in the Champions League and one place better than our aims."
Focusing on the derby again, Van Gaal says: "It is a special game and we have to show it, but they do also. We have lost against Arsenal in the FA Cup, it was also very disappointing for us, but nevertheless we continued our form in the Premier League."
That's all from Van Gaal for now, so make sure you join us again on Sunday to find out whether the blue or red half of Manchester will be celebrating. Until then, thanks for joining me this afternoon. Goodbye.
Written by
Sian Cowper
Sian Cowper
