PREM: Man Utd v Huddersfield preview

Man Utd v Huddersfield preview

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be given a hero's welcome before his first home game in charge of Manchester United against Huddersfield on Boxing Day.

Solskjaer got off to a winning start on Saturday with a 5-1 thrashing of Cardiff in south Wales, the first time United have scored five goals since Sir Alex Ferguson's final game in charge.

Chelsea's surprise defeat to Leicester enabled United to close the gap on the top four to seven points ahead of the visit of Huddersfield.

Huddersfield slipped to another home defeat to Southampton on Saturday, meaning they are winless in their last five Premier League games, with manager David Wagner feeling the heat, especially having to face a club lifted by a new managerial appointment.

"It is a tough time, anything else would be a lie," Wagner said. "In general I don't like that managers get sacked, but having to play against teams with a new manager makes it so much harder for us, which is something we do not need at the moment."

Romelu Lukaku looks likely to miss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first home match as caretaker manager. The Belgium international was given time off due to a private matter and missed the trip to Cardiff, where fellow forward Alexis Sanchez was absent through injury.

Defenders Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo and Matteo Darmian were also missing in the Welsh capital, as were full-back Antonio Valencia and midfielder Scott McTominay.

David Wagner is hopeful midfielder Jonathan Hogg will be available for the trip to Old Trafford.

Hogg missed last weekend's loss to Southampton after taking a knock to his knee. Fellow midfielder Rajiv Van La Parra could also return nearly three months after suffering a back injury.

Tommy Smith (hamstring), Aaron Mooy (knee), Danny Williams (knee) and Abdelhamid Sabiri (collarbone) definitely remain sidelined.