| |  |
REDS WAIT ON TRIO
The fitness of three key players is uppermost in Sir Alex Ferguson's mind as he prepares to take on Manchester City in a crucial clash at Eastlands.
Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney are all rated doubtful with the boss admitting, "We'll have to wait to see what they're like [in training] today.
"Wayne has done some work in the last couple of days and we're going to assess how he is for Saturday's game. The big problem is that all the players want to play. But we have to be 100 per cent sure that Wayne is ready.
"Picking up injuries in last Sunday's game was a problem in terms of recovery time for Rio and Ryan, but at least they have done some jogging. However, they are behind Wayne in progress and it's up in the air at the moment."
On a more positive note, Owen Hargreaves is in the squad after training well, while John O'Shea has made a good recovery after coming off at Blackburn.
Whomever is passed fit and selected by Sir Alex will be under no illusions about the importance of Saturday's match, it being the first of United's last four league games with a four-point gap to close on Chelsea.
"It's a pivotal week of the season for ourselves, Man City, Chelsea and Spurs," added the boss. "Being selfish, we obviously hope that we and Spurs both win."
More: New deal for Scholes | Sir Alex relishes D-day | Boss eyes summer buys | | | | | |
LET'S PUT CITY IN THEIR PLACE
Former United boss Wilf McGuinness is backing his beloved Reds to recover from recent disappointments and claim a third derby win of the season on Saturday.
The ex-boss and Busby Babe feels a feisty showdown with local rivals Manchester City may be just what the players need after the draw at Blackburn, defeat to Chelsea and a hard-to-swallow exit from the Champions League against Bayern Munich. “I'm sure our players will bounce back because they've got great character and because they've done it before,” said Wilf on MUTV. “City are in excellent form, but that makes this a good time to beat them again and show them how it’s done.” Blues boss Roberto Mancini says he wants Wayne Rooney to overcome his ankle problem and play at Eastlands, because he wants to beat a full-strength United. “I don't worry about what they're saying,” retorted Wilf. “It's what we do that counts. But if Wayne's fit, great, because he's the lad to dish it out and put it in the net.” Rooney scored the aggregate winner when the sides last met in January, in the second leg of an epic Carling Cup semi-final. The Reds have now won four of the last five derbies and hardly deserved to lose the other after pummelling City’s goal. “Although we lost on our last visit to Eastlands (in the semi final first leg) we were in charge for long periods," recalled Wilf. “I'm not going to predict the score - all that matters is we win. We're noted for scoring late on, this time I hope we don't have to.” | | | | | |
BEATING THE BLUES... IN THEIR OWN BACKYARD
We recall United's last five away wins in Manchester derbies, starting with a five-goal thriller just over 14 years ago...
Maine Road, 6 April 1996, 3-2 (Cantona, Cole, Giggs)
Eric Cantona's early penalty and an Andrew Cole strike - either side of Mikhail Kavelashvili's equaliser - put the Reds 2-1 up at half-time, but when Uwe Rosler netted in the 72nd minute, it seemed the Blues had secured a vital point. Step forward Ryan Giggs for a stunning winner, jubilantly celebrated. United went on to win the Double while City went down on goal difference. Maine Road, 18 November 2000, 1-0 (Beckham)
Before any of the dust could settle between the two sides, the recently-appointed England captain David Beckham struck a trademark 30-yard free-kick to seize the lead inside two minutes. The Reds held on to secure a sixth straight win, along the way to what would be a third successive title. Eastlands, 13 February 2005, 2-0 (Rooney, Dunne og)
Wayne Rooney’s impressive debut season continued as he stole the show on United's second visit to Eastlands, playing a part in both goals. The 19 year-old broke the deadlock on 68 minutes, striking a deflected shot past David James. Seven minutes later, Rooney burst into the box and fired towards goal, only for Richard Dunne to intervene and steer it past his own keeper.
Eastlands, 5 May 2007, 1-0 (Ronaldo)
United took the lead through Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty just before half time. Nerves were jangling as the match wore on and two points were nearly dropped 10 minutes from time when referee Rob Styles awarded a spot-kick to the Blues. To our great relief, Edwin van der Sar saved from Darius Vassell and 24 hours later the Reds were crowned champions when Chelsea drew with Arsenal. Eastlands, 30 November 2008, 1-0 (Rooney)
Penalty-scoring hero in the previous win at Eastlands, Ronaldo became the villain when he received a second yellow card for a blatant handball, 20 minutes from time. Fortunately this did not derail the Reds too much as a dominant performance delivered all three points, thanks to Rooney hammering home his 100th United goal.
More: View images from the above games in ManUtd.com's Gallery: City classics feature. | | | | | | | This email has been sent to you by ManUtd.com, Manchester United FC, Sir Matt Busby Way, Old Trafford, Manchester M16 0RA, England. This email is designed to be viewed in HTML email clients - if you cannot see the images above, please open an HTML-compatible email account and then register the new address with ManUtd.com. If this email has been forwarded to you by a friend, please register with ManUtd.com to receive Red View directly from next week. The articles and images in this newsletter do not necessarily represent the views of Manchester United FC. If you do not wish to receive this email please send a blank email from your subscription address to unsubscribe@manutd.co.uk. We are committed to respecting your privacy. Please see our Privacy Policy . Please DO NOT reply to this email. | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment