would reignite Manchester United's Premier League title
hopes after their "sparkling" wins over the past week.
United followed up a 3-1 FA Cup victory away to Derby
County with a commanding 3-0 win over Stoke City at Old
Trafford, in which they scored in the first half at home for the
first time since September.
Van Gaal's side are 10 points behind leaders Leicester City
ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge, yet the manager is
confident that a win over Guus Hiddink's Chelsea will give
their title aspirations a shot in the arm given their recent
improvement.
"It's always better when you win and certainly when it's with
a very good performance and three goals," he told the media
on Friday. "It shall give a big boost to the players. You can
see that in the training sessions.
"I have the feeling that if we beat Chelsea - and that's
difficult, since Hiddink is there, they don't lose any more -
then our league is starting again, so that's very important.
"The competition is not finished, for Manchester United or
anyone else.
"We have the feeling and that's because we won two times
in a row with sparkling football, with goals, clean sheets
against opponents in great form."
Van Gaal believes United's form will continue to get better
as a number of injured players edge closer to a return to
first-team football, with Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo nearing
fitness.
"You have to solve problems that you cannot solve. And we
had that period in December," he added.
"Now the players are coming back, they are fit again, so I
can continue how I started the season. And maybe you
remember we were first.
"Of course [December could cost us], I said at the time that
you have to analyse the circumstances. Maybe you
remember that. I mean what I said.
"You cannot prevent contact injuries and we were very
unlucky. We don't have muscle injuries, only contact
injuries, and when you don't have full-backs any more you
have problems."
Luke Shaw was named in United's Europa League squad
this week, and Van Gaal says the full-back can aim to be fit
for the final in Basel in May, as he continues his recovery
from a broken leg.
"He can play the [Europa League] final - I've said that to
him. It's a goal he has to live for. It's not impossible," the
Dutchman continued.
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