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Luke Shaw insists Old Trafford has rediscovered its fear factor under Louis van Gaal.

And the left back is convinced Manchester United’s home form will be key to securing Champions League football.

Only Chelsea have a better record on home soil this season - with Van Gaal’s side winning 10 of their 13 Premier League fixtures at Old Trafford.

That is already more than they managed in the whole of last season during David Moyes’ disastrous campaign, when they won nine in front of their own fans.

Jose Mourinho’s league leaders have won 11 at Stamford Bridge.

United face Sunderland on Saturday looking to bounce straight back from defeat at Swansea last weekend.

And Shaw believes games like that will be pivotal to a top four finish as the fight with Arsenal, Liverpool, Southampton and Tottenham intensifies.

“We always get that extra push at home from the fans and they’ve also been amazing away from home as well,” said the England defender.

“At home it’s always different - when teams come to Old Trafford they can feel that atmosphere and it can be a scary place for other teams.

“It’s a big pitch and United have always been strong at home and won a lot of games here so that’s a very important factor as well.

“I always look forward to playing every game, but we’re especially looking to make sure we win this one.

“We’ve been working hard this week and it’s massively important that we get the victory on Saturday.”

The shock 2-1 defeat to Swansea left United hanging on to fourth place by a thread.

Just four points separate five teams from third to seventh.

Phil Jones says getting straight back to winning ways is crucial.

“It’s an important game for us,” he said. “It won’t be easy, Sunderland are a tough team, but we’ve done well at home recently and we need to bounce back from the defeat at the weekend. It’s never nice to lose a game. We thought we played reasonably well, especially in the second half, but this will be another difficult match for us and one we need to win.”