Now on to more important things.
The 411:
With United cruising to a spot in the knockout stages of the Champions League, Sir Alex is resting a couple of first teamers for the trip up north to face Glasgow Rangers. The last game against these guys was a 0-0 draw and Rangers executed their 8-1-1 formation well against a United side that couldn't find a way to score.
Our European Conquest:
United are top of the group and are three points clear of second placed Valencia. Our last game was a victory against Bursaspor and that put us up to 10 points - the "virtual guarantee of qualification" according to a lot of soccer analysts and managers. However, a loss here and a win for Valencia against Bursaspor could put us in a sticky situation with Valencia topping the table.
BUT! I'm gonna think positive and I know that we are more than capable of winning at Ibrox tonight,
Where We Stand:
1|United|4P|5GD|10PTS
2|Valencia|4P|6GD|7PTS
3|Rangers|4P|-2GD|5PTS
4|Bursaspor|4P|-9GD|0PTS
Enemy Form:
Rangers are top of the Scottish Premier League and are L-W-L-W-W in their last five games. According to their manager Walter Smith, Rangers will look to attack tonight. That's a MUCH bigger improvement over the last meeting between United and Rangers where they literally had 10 players behind the ball at all times. Rangers' necessity for a win means that we can hopefully look forward to an open, free-flowing game, hopefully in United's favor.
Players to Look Out For:
Rangers' biggest threat will come from the in-form striker, Kenny Miller. Miller has the lead for the Scottish golden boot with 18 goals so far this season. That's 7 more than the next highest scorer. With United looking to rest both Ferdinand and Vidic tonight (more on that later), Smalling and Evans better be on their toes with such a prolific striker lining up against them.
Another Rangers player we should look out for is Kirk Broadfoot. I have this feeling that bad things happen around Kirk Broadfoot. Wanna know why? Because things like this happen around Kirk Broadfoot...
As for United, we should be looking towards Wayne Rooney to show us what a week at Niketown can do. This is his first start in over two months and in my opinion, he's dropped quite a lot down the respect levels. A good performance in this game will be the first step to showing the world that he's still a quality player after his epic fall from grace. Personally I'm undecided on whether his form will return so he's got a lot of work on his hands.
On the Home Front:
As I've mentioned before, there will be a lot of players who will be given rests such as Vidic and Ferdinand, so Smalling and Evans will be playing tonight. Other than that, you can expect Obertan, Bébé, and Fábio to feature at some point tonight. Also, the dreaded (no pun intended)
Along with the youngsters, Rooney and Giggs are expected to make their return to the lineup. Rooney is guaranteed a starting spot while Giggs will probably come on from the bench. In other news, Gibson and Neville are doubtful after picking up knocks in training and Valencia and Hargreaves are still out for the long-term.
TSR's Thoughts
1. If we lose, we will end up in deep doo doo.
2. If Anderson plays, I sure as hell hope he marks Broadfoot.
3. 4-4-2 or 4-3-3?
Bold Prediction
Rooney will either play like crap and score, or play well and not find the scoresheet. Also, if Anderson plays, he's show us more reasons why he does not belong at Old Trafford. Smalling and Evans will impress and Giggs will do something magical. 2-0 United.
Can't stop this feeling that I need you.
No comments:
Post a Comment