Manchester United: Louis van Gaal to keep faith in Marouane Fellaini despite Radamel Falcao form

Louis van Gaal is reportedly set to keep faith with Maroune Fellaini as an advanced midfield player for the visit of Aston Villa to Old Trafford on Saturday.

According to the Mirror, the Belgian international, who has displayed impressive form for both club and country in recent weeks will be preferred over Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao.

The former is still in the process of recovering from an ankle injury, while the latter is returning from international duty with Colombia, where he scored goals in both their games. Despite Falcao's return to form it is believed that the manager will stick to the successful formula of using Fellaini behind lone striker Wayne Rooney.

United have hit a purple patch at the right time in the season, and the manager's new philosophy has seen them record convincing victories over top four rivals Tottenham and Liverpool in recent weeks as they continue their quest to qualify for next season's Champions League.

The former Everton midfielder, who has just returned from international duty after scoring three goals in two games for Belgium has admitted that United are now relying on him and has thanked the coach for backing him. He believes that it was the injuries at the start of the season that kept him from performing at his best.

"Now they are counting on me. There were never any real doubts," Fellaini said, as quoted by the Mirror.

"I was injured at the beginning of the season and then returned. The coach gave me confidence and I proved myself in a few matches."

"After that, I was injured and I got sick again. For three weeks I was on antibiotics. It took a while, but now I can finally enjoy things," the Belgian midfielder explained.