SPURS-MAN CITY PREVIEW

That 6-0 annihilation at the ETIHAD cannot be forgotten easily by members of the Spurs team. The day Navas, Kun Aguero and Negredo ran riot. It was the beginning of the end for Andre Villas-Boas who lost his job not long after.  New manager, Tim Sherwood has come in and steadied the ship, bringing back Emmanuel Adebayor from obscurity and changing the formation which has best suited the team. They have since won five and drawn one in their last six league outings thus making Sherwood a darling of the Spurs' faithful. Tonight, the lilywhitres hope to avenge the damaging defeat v Man City in front of the demanding White Hart Lane fans.


                                                                                   


Manchester City are a team in ruthless form. 106 goals in 35 games spread over all competitions and the chance to win a first ever quadruple has made them absolutely unstoppable.  Brimming with confidence, they have torn EVERY team apart especially at home and today's opponents can testify to that glaring fact. Sergio Aguero and Alvaro Negredo have formed arguably the best attacking partnership in Europe and with Yaya Toure behind them, things are beginning to look really good for Manuel Pellegrini. When Arturo Vidal said he's the best CENTRAL MIDFIELDER in the WORLD, I almost agreed, until I remembered a certain Gigantic Ivorian in the City set-up. The 3-time African Footballer of the year is head and shoulders above everyone else in his position and his form this season has been borderline bionic. With Fernandinho providing the needed defensive cover in midfield, Yaya has gilded through the opposition rearguard like a moving train. He is perhaps the most important player in the City team and his manager is aware of that fact. Tonight, he faces a Tottenham team not short of confidence themselves and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Spurs don't have a Yaya, Kun or Negredo but they can boast of talents such as Eriksen, Adebayor, Lennon and Walker. A far cry from the names on the City team sheet, but very effective.  Emmanuel Adebayor is the main reason why Spurs have regained composure and spark in recent weeks and his goals have come in handy. The win at Old Trafford signaled intent and raised hopes of achieving a top 4 finish this season. Danish playmaker, Christian Eriksen has contributed goals and assists too and cemented his position in the starting line-up. This has relegated Lewis Holtby to the bench and the German cannot complain too much about it. Paulinho's absence is a big blow to the team but they can cope without him as they have done in previous games. Moussa Dembele is a very impressive footballer but lacks the abilities of a great midfielder. The likes of Aaron Lennon and Nacer Chadli have flattered to deceive and Erik Lamela finds the EPL difficult to settle in. The 'Gareth Bale replacement' has cut a forlorn figure since his arrival from Rome. Despite all the setbacks, the liywhites have done well since Sherwood took over. A win tonight will endear him more to the Club's Hierarchy.


PROBABLE LINE-UP

SPURS:

Lloris, Walker, Chiriches, Dawson, Rose, Sandro, Dembele, Bentaleb, Eriksen, Adebayor, Lennon

Vlad Chiriches was pictured in a drunken state at the weekend in Romania. If Sherwood is to punish him for his misdemeanor, Capoue could deputize at centre back. However, the Spurs' coaching crew will be aware of his inadequacies and recent showing last month when Luis Suarez and co destroyed the North Londoners at home. A result that cost AVb his job. Nabil Bentaleb is doing a good job in midfield and there has been no space for Roberto Soldado in recent selections. The 26 Million pound man only scores penalties apparently and his club is not guaranteed one every match it seems. A place on the bench is most likely the case again for the 'RS9' brand. Tim Sherwood is not likely to make any changes to his starting 11 except of course it/they is/are enforced.


MAN CITY

Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Kolarov, Fernandinho, YAYA, Silva, Navas, Aguero, Negredo

I think the team all but picks itself nowadays. If there are no injuries, we know the expected line up. However, with Nasri out of action for a long time, Jesus Navas should come in and form a foursome with Silva, Kun and Negredo. 'The front four' is a beauty to behold in full flow and I doubt if Spurs have enough in their tank to prevent them from netting today. A team that has EDIN DZEKO on its subs bench is just out of this World.

City go into today's affair knowing that a win will take them to the top of the pile and with the crunch tie v Chelsea coming up soon, nothing other than victory will do. Spurs will try to make things difficult for them and find ways to curtail the RO-DO partnership upfront. The devastatingly lethal pair possess some of the best goal scoring stats in European football this term. Kun's 14 EPL goals in 13 appearances is only bettered by EL PISTOLERO SUAREZ's 23 in 19. Should be an interesting watch.


Ohireime P Eboreime
@ohiskaka1990

MANCHESTER UNITED-CARDIFF PREVIEW

Yes! I am back. Who missed me and my write-ups? It is only normal that I had to take a back seat after all the happenings of recent weeks. I am back for good now. Now to more pressing matters. IT I S MANCHESTER UNITED V CARDIFF TONIGHT and ''yours truly' is previewing it as best as he can...............


                                                       


It is going to be a VERY SPECIAL night at the Theatre. No movie has been well scripted as the one which is going to play out tonight. Even the best Directors in the World would have found it almost impossible to imagine the plot of this staggeringly awesome film. The cast and crew have no ties whatsoever with Hollywood but they have put together something that will bring the entire world to a standstill tonight. Rarely does a MAN UTD-CARDIFF  fixture take the attention of so many people, especially when there is Spurs-Manchester City and the Merseyside derby to look forward to. But this is a very unique occasion and we can revel in it as much as we can.

On Monday afternoon, Manchester United officially unveiled a Spanish maestro and one of the World's finest playmakers as the newest GENERAL of the red army. JUAN MANUEL MATA GARCIA was recruited from Chelsea last week. A transfer which cost the defending champions 37.1 Million pounds and shattered the previous record fee (30.75 Million) paid to lure the languid Berbatov in the summer of 2008. Till today, it is still like a dream to the football World that MAN UTD and Chelsea could come to an agreement for their best player of the last two years. But in Life, impossible is nothing. The diminutive Spaniard has been given the NO 8 shirt previously won by former Legends such as Paul Ince and Nicky Butt and more recently, Wayne Rooney and the recently departed Oliveira Anderson (on loan at the Artenio Franchi). He might not be what United need but he is certainly what 95% of World Beaters will jostle for when made available.

The capture of Mata has breathed a new lease of life in the entire club. Wayne Rooney is reportedly set to sign a new bumper deal that will see him handed the skipper's responsibilities and keep him at Manchester United for a long time. Besides that, all the big guns have returned to training ahead of the visit of Cardiff. Robin Van Persie, Wazza and Fellaini all returned to training on Monday and have a chance of being involved tonight.

WELCOME HOME OGS

Tonight, the red devils' faithful and indeed all of OLD TRAFFORD welcome the BABY FACEDASSASSIN and one of the club's greatest ever players, OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER, back to a place he called home for 11 years and won the Champions League in that miraculous night at the Nou Camp, 15 years ago. The Norwegian Legend scored 126 goals in 300+ apps for the club and most of those came from the bench and in the most important moments. The 366 games he played for Manchester United were all dear to him and he showed that every time he wore the jersey. His 91 Premier League goals are only 4 short of the total Ruud Van Nistelrooy managed for the red army, albeit in more appearances. He scored and assisted for fun and never complained even though he spent most of his time on the bench and out of position. A great man on and off the pitch. Tonight, he comes as a foe. He walks the Old Trafford turf as manager of Vincent Tan's CARDIFF CITY. One thing is guaranteed: He will be treated to a hero's welcome by everyone associated with the club. It might be a night of mixed feelings for Moyes as he may feel like the opposition manager with the applause and appeal OGS will get upon walking out of the tunnel.

THE R&R return tonight

Back to on-pitch issues, Manchester United have a near full strength squad to call upon. The absence of Carrick and Vidic means a lot but RVP, Rooney and Fellaini have returned from injury and should give Moyes some selection headache. With Cleverley under-performing, Fellaini will go straight into the starting line-up with the ever improving Darren Fletcher who seems to have gotten over his ailment. Fabio and Wilf Zaha have joined OGS at Cardiff on permanent and loan deals respectively, but will play no part tonight. The former was not registered before the 12.00 deadline on Monday and the latter cannot play against his parent club.

PROBABLE LINE-UP

MANCHESTER UNITED

DDG, Rafael, Jones, Evans, Evra, Fellaini, Fletcher, Adnan, Mata, Rooney, Welbeck/RVP

David De Gea was at fault for Sunderland's equaliser in the Carling Cup semi last week but that will not make him lose his place. Rafa will miss his twin brother but life goes on. Evra is so error prone now and Jonny Evans is shaky at times. In general, the United defence is in utter shambles and the goal concession rate is a thing of great concern. Rio Ferdinand is done and must move on next season and Nemanja Vidic is closer to the exit door. Marouane Fellaini has to start justifying the 27.5 Million pounds spent on him. The return of ROONEY and RVP is a welcome boost for the club but not for Welbeck and Chicharito, who in the coming weeks, will return to the bench. Welbeck in particular, has been excellent in the last two months and deserves a starting berth. I never though I would see the name-MATA on any United team sheet ever...It will happen tonight.

For Cardiff, there wouldn't be many changes to the starting eleven, except that Magnus Eikrem may start against his former club. Gary Medel and Steven Caulker are expected to return after sitting out the F.A Cup win at the Reebok. They don't have the luxury of the top sides in terms of squad strength.

CARDIFF CITY

Marshall, Theophile-Catherine Turner, Caulker, McNaughton, Medel, Whittingham, Mutch, Gunnarsson, Noone, Campbell


Frazier Campbell is set to line up against his former club after coming off the bench to hit the winner v Bolton at the weekend. OGS will be happy to have a super sub in his team as he was one of the best impact substitutes of his generation. Veteran, Peter Whittingham will continue to whip in the crosses and provide the needed experience. The goalkeeper-Marshall has been terrific despite conceding so many goals this term. He will be kept extremely busy tonight, to be honest.

THE ARRIVAL OF EL MATA....HE MAKES HIS DEBUT TONIGHT.

Finally, United fans have a playmaker they have been longing for since the retirement of Paul Scholes. Mata is no ginger prince but he is a genius and has created more chances (125) than any other player since the start of last season. When you consider how little he has played this season, that is breathtakingly fantastic. He needed to leave Stamford Bridge as he saw himself being surplus to requirement at a club where he was voted POTY in the last two campaigns. Mourinho and all his teammates know how much he's going to be missed. Chelsea's loss is United's monumental gain. Hold on--------IN A FEW OF HOURS, JUANMATA8 will be UNLEASHED!!!!!!


Ohireime P Eboreime
@ohiskaka1990