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| DEADLY DUO |
Manchester United have been buoyed by the return to training of Jonny Evans, but are still without Ashley Young whose knee hasn't healed up yet Otherwise, SAF has a healthy squad to pick from. The 2-1 win over Southampton three days ago extended their lead at the top of the pile to 7 points and they could go 10 points clear, at least for 24 hours, if they come out with a victory this evening. Wayne Rooney is on a hot streak at the moment. His brace against the Saints were his 11th and 12th goals of the season and with RVP partnering him upfront, goals are a guarantee. The Dutchman has been exceptional this season, with 22 goals and a truckload of assists to his name already. The EPL top scorer failed to find the net on Wednesday, but will be expected to find the net. His 10 away goals this season is a league high. The red devils have won 8 away games already this season, more than nay other side in the Division.
Both sides met just a week ago at Old Trafford in the F.A Cup and Manchester United cam out on top in a pretty one-sided affair. The Cottagers will be hoping to make life difficult for Sir Alex Ferguson's men this evening. The red devils are on a spectacular run at the moment. They have forgotten how to lose domestically and will be heavy favourites going into this one. Although recent visits to the Cottage haven't been fruitful, the last one there ended in a whitewash for the home side as the League leaders ran out comfortable 5-0 winners. Sir Alex said in his press conference that Rio will start and Jonny Evans has returned to training. In the build -up to this game, Wayne Rooney cam out to say he has handed over spot-kick duties to RVP since he has imbibed the habit of missing more than he scores. Missing 10 out of 27 penalties is unacceptable and that had to be put right. Good decision from the Englishman.
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| Jol....will be hoping his boys deliver today. |
Martin Jol is faced with yet another misery on his hands. The daunting task of defeating a Fergie-managed team has reared its ugly head again. But his managerial impetus will be a total waste if he doesn't try to end the horrendous run his teams have against Manchester United. Easier said than done as the red army are marching magnificently at the moment. Football is no mathematics though. One bad day in the office and boom, things become awkward.
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| Urby hoping to shine today |
Fulham won for the 1st time in 8 games on Wednesday, putting the Hammers to the sword 3-1 at the Cottage with former Manchester United striker, Dimitar Berbatov among the scorers. He pulled his hamstring during the match and will play no part in proceeding today which is a huge blow to his team's chances of taking anything from this encounter. Mladen Petric or Hugo Rodallega will be called upon to fill the vacuum. New signings, Eyong Enoh on loan from Ajax, Stanislav Manolev from PSV, and Urby Emmanuelson from AC Milan are available but Eyong and Stanislav are ineligible because of work permit issues. However, the Dutch import from Milan is most likely to make his debut. Arsenal's Emmanuel Frimpong who also made the loan switch to West London will be in the squad, but might not be in the starting line-up.
PROBABLE LINEUPS:
FULHAM: The Cottagers are still without Diarra, Frei, Sidwell and Richardson.
Schwarzer, Riether, Hangeland, Hughes, Riise, Dejagah, Karagounis, Kacaniklic, Ruiz, Emmanuelson, Petric/Hugo
MANCHESTER UNITED; Ashley Young will play no part, Jonny Evans just returned to training and has to make do with a place on the bench.
DDG, Rafa, Rio, Vidic, Evra, Carrick, Cleverley/Anderson, Nani/Valencia, Kagawa, Rooney, RVP
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