Juan Mata will start his first game for Manchester United since January 17, as Louis van Gaal looks to shake things up against Tottenham. Mata, having joined the club for £37.1million in January 2014, has struggled to make an impact since the turn of the year, only making three starts. His last appearance in Van Gaal's starting XI came on January 17 against Queens Park Rangers, but since then he has only made four fleeting appearances off the bench. Juan Mata (right), pictured in training last week, will start his first game for Manchester United since January . Mata's last starting appearance for Manchester United came against Queens Park Rangers on January 17 . Van Gaal has made three changes to his United team from the side that faced Arsenal in the FA Cup on March 9. He said of Mata's inclusion: 'Mata has played there a long time also with Chelsea. 'He is the same type of player as [Angel] di Maria. He's left-footed and he can do the job there I think.' Mata's inclusion is a straight swap for the suspended Angel di Maria, while Phil Jones and Michael Carrick replace Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo. United are fourth in the Premier League, but can close the gap on Arsenal to one point with a victory against Tottenham.
Louis van Gaal has opted to start Juan Mata against Tottenham . He replaces the suspended Angel di Maria, who was sent off vs Arsenal . Mata's last start came on January 17, against QPR in the Premier League . The Spaniard has only made four Premier League appearances in 2015 .