MANCHESTER UNITED-STOKE CITY PREVIEW.....No more slip-ups for the defending champions, else they forget about the EPL title.

                                                      

MANCHESTER UNITED-STOKE CITY PREVIEW….No margin for error(s) anymore for the defending champions

Fresh from grinding out a 1-0 victory over Basque opponents, Real Sociedad in midweek, Manchester United face a third successive home game in all competitions later this afternoon against a Stoke side short of ideas especially in front of goal. Managed by a United Legend, the Potters have not had the best of times in the League so far, only earning a draw because Stephane Sessegnon left his brain at the midlands and Howard Webb was either lenient or plain stupid not to give a penalty for the obvious infringement on Mulumbu at the Britannia

In the build up to this game, the Sir Alex Ferguson book with startling revelations about former and current players, has dominated the headlines. However, it will have very little to do with how things turn out after 90 minutes. Mark Hughes has also said that since the great man’s retirement, the red army has looked very vulnerable and his Stoke side are prepared to capitalise on any slip-ups like Southampton and West Brom before them, did in the last three weeks. It hasn’t been the best of times for David Moyes. His substitutions have been disappointing too.

United seek an 11^th consecutive home win over Stoke and will have the record books firmly in their favour. The last time the potters won at Old Trafford was 37 years ago. That will affect them somehow, but if they borrow a leaf from their last opponents (West Brom), things might be very different. The baggies ended a 30-something year wait for victory at OT a few weeks and they did it in spectacular style…aided by the amateurish defending of Rio Ferdinand who has unsurprisingly been excluded from recent lineups. They say he’s injured. Yeah right.

Inigo Martinez was the reason why we beat La Real on Wednesday. Despite vast improvements in the performance, the 3 time European Champions could not find a way past Bravo. Chances were wasted and it could have been a different story if Carlos Vela and co didn’t leave their scoring books in faraway Spain. Wayne Rooney and Shinji Kagawa were excellent and Ryan Giggs played like he was a hungry teenager looking for a starting spot in a team of seasoned professionals. With the way the Welsh legend played on Wednesday, no one would have realised that he turns 40 in a little more than a month.

PROBABLE LINEUPS-

MANCHESTER UNITED-

DDG, Rafa, Jones, Evans, Evra, Carrick, Fellaini, Januzaj, Kagawa/Nani, Rooney, RVP

In the continued absence of first choice defensive partnership (Rio and Vidic), Phil Jones and Northern Irishman, Jonny Evans will play their third consecutive game together in central defence. They have conceded just one goal in two games and should be comfortable this afternoon, barring any monumental collapse. The return of RvP should boost the entire squad. The Dutch all time highest goal scorer missed the Champions League game in midweek, but is set to partner United’s most in-form player, Wayne Rooney, in attack. Welbeck and Cleverley may also sit out this one as they are struggling with injuries and form. The Japanese Samurai should retain his place in the starting eleven after an inspired performance last time and Belgian teenage sensation, Adnan, has a role to play.

STOKE-

Begovic, Cameron, Shawcross, Huth, Pieters, Walters, Adams, Nzonzi, Aissadi, Ireland, Crouch

Asmir Begovic is one of the top goalkeepers in the League. The Bosnian helped his national side secure automatic qualification to their first ever World Cup two weeks ago and has seen his reputation rise to new heights since he made his League bow. Touted to become one of the all-time goalkeeping greats, he can make life difficult for the famed United R&R front line. Ryan Shawcross was at United sometime ago and has been linked to them in the past because of his good showings. Alongside Robert Huth, they have been one of the better defensive pairings in the League for some years now. Peter Crouch knows all about United and Jon Walters still carries the hopes of the team. He shouldn’t be allowed to take penalties anymore though.

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REAL MADRID-JUVENTUS PREVIEW

REAL MADRID-JUVENTUS PREVIEW….LOS MERENGUES LOOK SET TO QUALIFY FOR THE KNOCKOUT ROUNDS WITH THREE GAMES TO SPARE

Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid continue the club’s pursuit of La Decima tonight at the Santiago Bernabeu. An ambition that has grown taller since Vicente Del Bosque led the whites to Title no 9 eleven years ago. Since then, it had been difficult to even reach the quarter-finals until a certain Portuguese master came along and took them to three straight semi-final appearances, only to be stopped by Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund-all Bs and former European Champions. The club is saddled with the burden of delivering a record 10^th European cup and fans have waited so long for this to happen. No less than ten managers have tried since the departure of VDB. None has even reached the Championship match.

In Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid possess one of the best managers in the history of the game. He has won the Champions League as a player and a manager and also reached the final-All with Silvio Berlusconi’s AC MILAN. Last time out, his PSG team gave a good account of themselves in the competition…only exiting on away goals to almighty Barcelona who later collected a spanking from eventual winners, Bayern Munich. The Italian has done well since he started work at the Capital and bar a painful defeat at home to Atletico, his team have given a good account of themselves. Some might point out to matches v Elche, Levante and others also. The 32 time La liga Champions sit third in the League three points behind leaders, Barcelona and one behind 2^nd placed Atletico Madrid.

Tonight’s visitors are Antonio Conte’s Juventus. The Old Lady of Italian football got stung by Beppe Rossi on Sunday at the Artenio Franchi in Florence. The former Villareal marksman scored the first hat-trick of his tupsy turvy career v the defending Serie A Champions in a match they had no right to win after going two goals down. Another Spaniard, Joaquin Sanchez added a well taken goal to further dent the Turin giants pride. The Italians were beaten by Real in the Champions League final fifteen years ago and matches between them have been exciting and keenly contested. Former Captain, Alex Del Piero had one of the finest nights of his Legendary career here at the Bernabeu..so there’s no reason why Carlos Tevez cannot do the same with the same iconic NO 10 jersey.

Juventus have only two points from two games played and face elimination if they don’t at least take three points from the double header v Los Blancos. Roberto Mancini’s Gala have Copenhagen to play over two legs and if they win both, trouble looms for the Bianconeri. Paul Pogba has been bullish in the build-up to this game. Confidence is sky high in the Italians camp that they can spring a surprise or two in Spain and finish the job off in Italy. This is by far Conte’s toughest test as manager of the Turin based outfit.

Los Merengues saw off Schuster’s Malaga at the weekend despite Willy Caballero’s heroics but it is the drop in form of Isco that is a source of concern to Carlo and Zizou. The ex-Malaga playmaker had everyone on their feet at the beginning of the season. Now, he seems to have lost that spark. No better time to regain it than tonight. While Isco Alarcon has been dwindling, Angel Di Maria has been soaring. The Argentine wing wizard is now an ever present in Ancelotti’s starting eleven. His performance v the Danes in Matchday two is one of the best individual displays ever witnessed in the Champions League. The peak of the show was his amazing rabona assist for Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2^nd goal that night. His place is secure even with the return of Bale. The whites go into today’s encounter knowing they can seal qualification with a win and results go their way in the other match. It will be something great as there are three more matchdays to play.

PREDICTED LINEUPS-

REAL MADRID-

Iker, Arbeloa, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo, ILLARRA, SAMI K, ISCO, CR7, BENZEMA, DI MARIA

JUVENTUS-

Buffon, Padoin, Chiellini, Bonucci, Barzagli, Vidal, Pirlo, Pogba, Tevez, Marchisio, Llorente

San Iker is set to replace Diego Lopez between the sticks tonight with Varane set to come in for Pepe. Ancelotti will know more than to under estimate his former employers. The midfield should be fine against the likes of Pirlo and Arturo Vidal who was left out of the starting eleven at Fiorentina for arriving late from international duty. The Chilean should be re-instated into the starting line-up. Upfront, the Tevez-Llorente partnership is showing signs of cliquing. Conte can change either of them (The latter most likely) for the diminutive Giovinco otherwise known as the ‘Atomic ant’.

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MANCHESTER UNITED-REAL SOCIEDAD PREVIEW

                                                          

            

    

  

MANCHESTER UNITED- REAL SOCIEDAD PREVIEW…TIME FOR REDEMPTION FOR BOTH SIDES. PRIDE AT STAKE

David Moyes seems to have run out of ideas. In actual fact, majority of Manchester United fans are perplexed by what they are witnessing this season. The red army lie in a distant 8^th position in the League- 8 hefty points behind early front runners, Arsenal and what’s more painful is that the managers substitutions have been borderline idiotic and clueless. The new man at the helm lacks the tactical know how to change a game as recent results have shown. If not for Adnan Januzaj, maybe relegation would have been the case with eight matches already played.

On Saturday, with United leading 1-0 and aiming to put the game beyond the reach of Le Sheriff’s Saints, Moyes pulled off one of the most shocking decisions the OT faithful have ever witnessed- Taking out the tired and under performing Wayne Rooney for Smalling, when Kagawa and Chicharito were waiting to be called upon. The puzzling part of the whole bewildering drama is that neither Wazza nor RVP performed well and he couldn’t muster the courage to take out one or both of them. It was terrible. Now any team coming to the Theatre is confident of at least leaving with a point. A far cry from the Fergie days. Although the great man experienced some difficulties in his first five years as manager of the 13-time EPL Champions.

The Champions League has represented a brief relief from the blunders of domestic action. Tonight, Carlos Vela’s Real Sociedad visit Manchester with the hope that they can spring yet another surprise. Very likely that they can. It was another Basque side that destroyed the red devils in the Europa League last year. Marcelo Bielsa’s Bilbao came, saw and ruthlessly demolished SAF’s men with what Moyes has called one of the most outstanding away performances he has ever seen. Iker Muniain, Ander Herrera and company tore their hosts a new one and went on to complete the demolition job at San Mames.

But things are a bit different now. That was the Europa League and the opponents were high on confidence. Today’s match up pitches two struggling teams against each other with one’s fortunes slightly better than the other’s. Manchester United might have demons to bury in the League, but in Europe, they jointly sit atop their group alongside Mircea Lucescu’s Shakhtar on four points from two games played. Victory today for them might spell the end of any hopes the Anoeta side have of progressing from the group.

Since putting Lyon to the sword in the playoffs, Sociedad have fallen apart, only claiming one victory at the Mestalla. Shakhtar dismantled them in game one and Leverkusen saw off their resistance last time out in Germany. Coming to Old Trafford now might be the best thing for them as they can capitalize on the poor form of their opponents tonight.

Sir Alex Ferguson chose to launch his book on the eve of a very important match for a team he managed for 27 years, revealing some very astonishing details of his reign which has not gone down well with some of his soldiers. It seems the great Scot can have everything his way. The timing is not perfect, but what has happened has indeed happened. Focus is key for members of the current squad, including the beleaguered Wayne Rooney who expected to be lambasted by his former boss. He might charge him for libel. Who knows? Patrice Evra has also been in the news all week after he tongue lashed Les Blues Legends, Bixente Lizarazu and Luis Fernandez for constant criticisms of him. He went further to drop the bombshell that he is bidding farewell to his beloved club of the last seven years, at the end of the season. Good luck Monsieur

PROBABLE LINEUPS-

MANCHESTER UNITED-

DDG, Rafael, Jones, Evans, Evra, Carrick, Fellaini, TonyV, Kagawa/Januzaj, Rooney, RVP

REAL SOCIEDAD-

Bravo, C.Martinez, Gonzalez, I.Martinez, De la Bella, M.Pardo, Bergara, Prieto, Griezmann, Vela, Seferovic

For Manchester United, it is likely that Adnan Januzaj will play a part once again, After his jaw dropping displays in recent weeks, the club had no other option but to include him in the Champions League squad after previous omitting his name for what they termed as tactical reasons. All bullshit. Antonio Valencia should find a place in the Starting eleven after impressing in the first two games. Roo and Robin should partner in attack once again and the imposing Fellaini who has done nothing since his arrival, is set to fill one of the central midfield spots. Of course we know one name is ever present in United’s midfield. Rio and Vidic are major doubts for the game. Cleverley and Welbeck have a chance to feature.

The Basque club haven’t fared since dismantling Lyon in the qualification round and new manager, Jagoba Arrasate who was Montanier’s assistant last season, has found his predecessor’s boots too big to fill. A morale boosting win at the Mestalla should restore the confidence within the set-up. More pleasing for the Spanish club is the return to fitness of Captain, Xabi Prieto. Frenchman, Antoine Griezmann has opined that they are not in Manchester for sightseeing and Carlos Vela who credits RVP for his growth and development, has become a key player for the club. His goals last season played a huge part in qualification for this elite competition. They are without Esteban Granero (long term knee injury) and ILLARRA has since gone to Real Madrid.

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SUNDERLAND-MANCHESTER UNITED PREVIEW

                      

                          

Who would have thought that going into the 7^th week of the season, Manchester United would lie a distant 12^th? Eight points behind Leaders, Arsenal-another huge shock. Even Hull City is placed ahead of the defending champions of the EPL and it is a worrying sight for the fans. Unbelievable development. Going into this evening’s game at the Stadium of Light, David Moyes is looking for redemption as his boys have let him down in no small measure. Three defeats from six games represents Manchester United’s worst League start in about two and a half decades. Life after Ferguson has been tortuous. Anything short of victory today will raise more questions about the choice of David Moyes.

Before the trip to the Etihad, stats came out that Moyes has a very good record over there WITH EVERTON. Well, we all know how it turned out afterwards. Another of such information has surfaced again that Moyes has lost just one of sixteen matches v the black cats. Then again, that was with the blue half of Merseyside. His new job hasn’t gone as planned and a 1-1 draw at the Dombass Arena was seen as a very good result by a lot of people. That is not and will never be the Manchester United way. The last time the red devils suffered three straight defeats in the League was twelve years ago and the last time the team had seven points after the first six games, they went on to finish the season in 13^th position and that was before Ryan Giggs made his debut.

The Manchester outfit are sweating over the fitness of Wayne Rooney who picked up his 4^th injury this season prior to the European fixture in midweek. A knock to his shin meant he was unavailable for selection in Ukraine. He should be fit to run out at the Stadium of Light. That might mean Danny Welbeck dropping out of the starting eleven, except he will be deployed to the wings in a 4-3-3 set-up. Robin Van Persie is expected to start his first premier League game since the Palace win and he has a good record, haven never lost to the team from Wearside in League play.

Caretaker Kevin Ball could do with a victory to further stake a claim to the permanent position at the club he has served for the better part of his football life. If Steve Clarke and West Brom could break a 35 year hoodoo last weekend, Sunderland can follow a similar path and there’s no better time to do it. Striker Fabio Borini is fit and eligible after sitting out last Sunday’s loss to his parent club, Liverpool. Steven Fletcher is close to returning for the Black Cats but this match comes too soon.

Sunderland were unlucky to be the hosts for the return of the Gunslinger last time out. Luis Suarez struck a brace to condemn the Wearsiders to yet another defeat. The 10 game ban did little to derail the Uruguayan and he continued from where he left off last season. Liverpool fans will hope he has truly repented of his many sins and turned a new leaf. For David Moyes, he knows there’s no margin for error yet again. Another defeat will send more than a million tongues wagging. As Ryan Giggs said a few days ago, things have to be put right.

PROBABLE LINEUPS-

SUNDERLAND-

Westwood, Gardner, O’Shea, Cuellar, Colback, Larsson, Ki, Cattermole, Giaccherini, Johnson, ALTIDORE

MANCHESTER UNITED-

DDG, Rafa, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Carrick, Fellaini, Kagawa/Nani, Valencia, Roo/Welbeck, RVP

Wayne Rooney is still a doubt for this encounter and Shinji Kagawa hasn’t proved himself worthy of a consistent run in the side after some lacklustre performances. The introduction of Adnan Januzaj for the Japanese playmaker last weekend should serve as a wake-up call. Luis Nani did himself no harm with his good performance which ultimately counted for nothing. Nonetheless, he should get a run out today-either as a starter or a sub.

Former MUFC player, John O’Shea faces the club he served for ten years today. Another former red, Wes Brown misses out through injury. Something that has sadly been synonymous with his very promising career. Ties and relationships will be put to one side, at least for 90 minutes.

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