Introduction
Manchester United round off their historic league campaign on Sunday with a fixture against relegation threatened Blackpool at Old Trafford. With the Premier League trophy to be handed over after the game, the stadium will be packed to the rafters and in somewhat of a party spirit to see the lads lift the club's 19th league championship.
All eyes will be on the side that Sir Alex Ferguson picks on Sunday with under a week to go until the Champions League Final at Wembley. With the Youth Cup Final second leg on Monday, there is little chance of any youngsters being selected so I would expect a similar line up to the game against Schalke a few weeks ago. It would be a surprise to see any of the expected eleven for Wembley to start so a game for Owen, Fletcher, Smalling, Evans and Berbatov amongst others is likely.
The game on Sunday may also bring down the curtain on the league career of Paul Scholes. The midfield maestro is widely tipped to retire at the end of the season although a final bow is planned for his testimonial in August. What you can be sure about is that when he finally announces the decision to hang up his boots, it will be without fanfare or fuss which is so typical of the unassuming, private person we have come to respect and admire. His place in United history is secure and he will rank as one of the all-time greats.
The Opposition
Ian Holloway's side have been a welcome addition to the Premier League this season with their brand of exciting football winning them many fans across the country. They have won the same number of away games as the newly crowned Champions this season and overall have the eighth best record on their travels which is a remarkable achievement for a club whose transfer budget was only £10 million.
They currently occupy the last of the relegation places but gave themselves a chance of staying up with a dramatic 4-3 victory over Bolton in their last game. This game seemed to accurately sum up their season - they are a threat going forward but are increasingly vulnerable when the opposition have the ball. This is encapsulated in their goals scored and conceded statistics. They have scored 53 league goals which is the 9th best in the table but have the worst defensive record with 74 conceded and have let in 14 of these in the last five minutes of play.
They have 39 points from their 37 games. Their leading scorer is D J Campbell with 13 while talisman Charlie Adam has weighed in with 12 from the heart of the midfield.
Their Premier League status relies on a number of factors and they could even lose on Sunday and still stay up. Below is a summary of their plight:
- They win and Blackburn draw with Wolves
- They win and Birmingham fail to win, given that Wolves are playing Blackburn (so cannot both exceed 41 points)
- They win and Wigan fail to better their result by two or more goals
- They draw, Wigan fail to win and Birmingham lose
- They lose, Wigan lose by a similar or greater margin, and Birmingham lose by a bigger margin than Blackpool
Ian Holloway emerges from this season with a great deal of credit for the way he has handled himself and the club through some tough moments. He has stayed true to his philosophy of attacking football in the face of adversity and for this he deserves reward. What is certain is that neutral observers will be in the Seasiders corner on Sunday and would much prefer others to drop into the second tier of English football than Holloway's men.
United
With the Champions League Final on the horizon there is little doubt that the side that takes the field on Sunday will bear little resemblance to the one that will try to bring home the club's 4th European Cup trophy.
After Tomas Kuczszak's eccentric display last week against Blackburn, I was going to plump for a league debut for Anders Lindegaard. With both of United's goalkeepers looking likely to depart the club in the summer, this would have been a chance for the Dane to stake a claim to a first team spot next season. With the increasing likelihood of David De Gea joining the Reds shortly, there will be an air of uncertainty between the posts as the new season kicks off as following in the footsteps of a legend like Van der Sar would be daunting for anyone let alone a 20 year old Spaniard. In his brief appearances so far, Lindegaard has shown he is able to command his box and looks decent with both the ball at his feet. However, the manager has confirmed that the legendary Dutchman will make his final league appearance on Sunday. I would expect that he will be made captain for the day and I am sure he will be desperate to call time on his league career with a clean sheet and a victory.
My defensive choices are fairly self explanatory. Wes Brown has had a difficult season with injuries and the form of others meaning he has started only 4 times in the Premier League and just 10 overall. Moving into the twilight of his career, there is a fair chance he will seek pastures new in the summer. He has been a fine servant to United over the years after coming to prominence in the treble winning season of 1999. His career has been plagued by serious injury but he has still been able to amass 362 appearances for the club and the manager once described him as the best natural defender in the country. Chris Smalling has had a terrific debut season at the club displaying a calm authority that belies his tender years and experience. He will continue to improve in seasons to come under the watchful gaze of Ferdinand and Vidic before taking his place as a mainstay of the side. Jonny Evans and Patrice Evra make up the remainder of the back four at centre and left back respectively.
The midfield area is somewhat more difficult to predict. Darren Fletcher needs to get a full ninety minutes under his belt ahead of Wembley so I have chosen him to play a role from the right with licence to drop back into the centre when required. My central two are Anderson and Scholes. On the left wing I have plumped for Gabriel Obertan who has endured a poor season with just three league starts under his belt. He is another player who is tipped to exit Old Trafford this summer and I feel this could be the best move to try to resurrect his career away from the pressure at United.
Up front, I will pick Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov. The Englishman deserves a game after waiting patiently on the sidelines over recent weeks. He is another player who may well bid farewell to the club in the summer. The Bulgarian will be looking to find the net so that he can win the leading scorer trophy ahead of Tevez.
Scoreline Prediction
Despite all the changes, the United side still looks strong enough to preserve their wonderful home record this season. It promises to be a strange afternoon with the home crowd in joyous mood willing the celebrations to begin but the away end will have their ears to the radio with their fate in the hands of others.
I will go for a 2-0 home victory with goals from Berbatov and Scholes.
Winning league title number nineteen has been a wonderful achievement by all the players and staff. Once the celebrations have died down, all eyes will focus firmly on Wembley and the small matter of Barcelona.
In the build up to the game, this blog will have an interview with Martin Lipton (Mirror Chief Football Writer), a web-chat discussing the game from both sides and an extensive preview will appear on Friday.
If you have any thoughts on the preview above, please leave a comment below or contact me via Twitter
Nearly the same team as me but i went for gibson and pushed anderson forward in midfield
ReplyDeleteIs Gibson injured? Thought he might get a shout. Nice calls though. Owen will start if it's 4 -4-2. Sorry to see wes go though, p
ReplyDeletetomaz pretty much gave up the ghost last week @rorycobbe
Given Obertan played on Friday for the Reserves I can't see him starting although he does deserve it
ReplyDelete