The 411:
After a largely disappointing (and relieving) win over Valencia at the Mestalla, United face Turkish side Bursaspor at Old Trafford. United are looking to get their form back after several dismal performances in the league and they could kickstart that tonight.
Our European Conquest:
After a draw and a win in our first two games, United are top of their group (only because of alphabetical order) and are on course for a spot in the next round, bar any slip-ups. The last game was very cagey and the game only opened up when Valencia made a tactical gamble that didn't pay off for them. Hopefully we'll have a more lively game tonight against Bursaspor who I think will be attacking us from the first whistle.
Where We Stand:
1|United|2P|1GD|4PTS
2|Rangers|2P|1GD|4PTS
3|Valencia|2P|3GD|3PTS
4|Bursaspor|2P|-5GD|0PTS
Enemy Form:
Bursaspor are W-W-W-D-D in their last five matches and are top of the Turkish league with 20 points out of 8 games. This will also be the shortest "Enemy Form" thing I'll ever do seeing as I have no idea what happens in the Turkish league. Oh, and just through my search on Google images, I learned that they do this:
Players to Look Our For:
Much like the problem I have with the "Enemy Form" section, I have no knowledge of Bursaspor's players. I don't want to half-ass the preview though, so here are my Bursaspor player predictions for the game.
Sercan Yildirim is their top-scoring striker with 2 goals in 7 games and should be a handful for Vidic and co. when the game kicks off. It's also important to look out for Federico Insúa wears number 7 for them and that must mean he's either an attention-seeking douchebag, or he's a somewhat talented player. That coupled with the fact that he's one of the non-Turkish players on the team means that he'll probably be a good player. According to the BBC, Volkan Sen is their star man and returns tonight after going AWOL and visiting his girlfriend in America. Now that's badass.
Also, Dimitar Ivankov is their starting goalie and he's played against our Dimitar before and says that he looks forward to stopping him tonight. Finally, we should keep our eyes peeled for Gökçek Vederson as he has the craziest name out of their entire squad. You'll never know when that can be an issue... right Eric Djemba-Djemba?
Anywho, I have a sneaky feeling that Obertan starts this one tonight and does well so look out for a blurry trail down one of our wings. Another thing to watch is Berbatov's partner tonight. Will it be Macheda, Hernández, or no one? The formation and choice of strikers will dictate our style of play and it's crucial we get it right. Finally, look our for our central midfielders tonight as we get to see whether or not Sensei Scholes starts the game and if Fergie is giving Anderson ANOTHER start.
On the Home Front:
What timing! Rooney is out with an ankle injury sustained yesterday and that keeps the vulture-like press away from him tonight. Other "minor" injuries include Giggs, Hargreaves, Owen, and Jonny Evans (or Jevans as I sometimes call him). Valencia is our only long-term absentee.
This is our time to shine and show that this slump in form is nothing more than temporary. Knowing the press we'll still be the losers no matter what happens tonight. If we win, then it was a fluke and it shows that we don't need Rooney and that we're better than him. If we lose, tie, or win and play badly, then they'll say that we are nothing without Rooney and that our time is up. There's just no shutting them up.
TSR's Thoughts:
1. What formation will we use tonight?
2. How will Old Trafford react to the recent news?
3. Why is Anderson still starting games for us?
4. Did Rooney fake yesterday's injury?
5. Have you checked out the awesome blogs over at the BBC? I personally like Phil McNulty.
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| Just another one for kicks |
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