Premier League Match Preview: Manchester United vs West Bromwich Albion

Manchester United face West Brom today in a very crucial match.

Date, Venue: Sunday 11 March 2012, 14:00 GMT (NEPAL Standard Time: 19:45) at Old Trafford.


Manchester United are to face West Bromwich Albion in the upcoming fixture of Premier League. Manchester United have been in good form recently in Premier League but defeat against Athletic Bilbao would have raised concerns of most of the Red Devil's fans.


Man Utd. will be hoping to regain their own confidence and the fan's as well ahead of the second leg of Europa league tie vs Bilbao in which united need to win at least  by 2 goals go get through the  next round.


Similarly, the importance of this match can't be discounted. United are just two points behind the league leader Man City and will be hoping to heap further pressure on the by winning this match.


Manchester United have relatively easier run in compared to City so they will look to make full use of it and mount as much pressure as possible upon Man City.




Team News
Sir Alex said that Antonio Valencia should be back for this game. Thus he could be returning to the squad and so could Tom Cleverly.


Steven Reid of West Brom is injured so will miss the match and so could Jerome Thomas following his hamstring injury.


Predictions
West Brom last week defeated Chelsea so will be looking for another upset as far as possible. But after the  bad performance against Bilbao united will be looking to regain their confidence for the title run in and also for the upcoming Europa League tie. 


Manchester United should comfortably win this game none the less. I will go for 3-1 victory to Manchester  United.

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Europa League Match Preview: Manchester United vs Athletic Bilbao

Manchester United face Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of Round of 16 at Old Trafford.

Man. Utd. vs Athletic Bilbao

Date, Venue: Thursday 8 March 2012, 20:05 GMT (NEPAL Standard Time: Friday, March 09, 2012 1:50:00 AM) at Old Trafford

Having defeated Tottenham without dominate the game, Manchester United have another tough game in their hands. Athletic Bilbao can't be discounted as an easy opponent as they have a very decent squad.

But United will be pretty confident as they have been able to salvage a possible of 10 points out of 12 against the opponents of likes of: Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham.

Though, United aren't playing Europa League out of choice, rather compulsion, there is an incentive of adding Europa League to the Trophy Cabinet of Manchester United which doesn't include this trophy. Therefore, Manchester United might look up to Europa League more seriously than they would otherwise.

Team News

There are some good news on the injury front for Manchester United as well. Chris Smalling will most probably be back for this game. Antonio Valencia and Tom Cleverly are getting better with their fitness but this game might come a little bit too soon for the. Whereas, Athletic Bilbao are expected to travel with a full squad, with long-term absentees  Carlos Gurpegui, Aitor Ocio, and Xabier Castillo all missing due to long-term injuries.

Prediction

On paper, Manchester United are undoubtedly the better team, but matches are won on field and not paper. Thus, United will have to play with full concentration in order to register a victory against Bilbao. The defense needs to function well as the downfall of English clubs in Europe this year has been caused due to lackluster defending. Man. Utd. certainly have the home advantage in the first leg which they will try to use in their advantage as much as possible. 

That said, I still fancy Manchester United to win by 2-0 if they keep their concentration levels high.

And don't forget to post your predictions below. You don't even need to have a google account. But please do leave your Name with your comments as well.

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Match Preview: Everton vs Manchester United

Kick Off time : 12:00 GMT ( 4:45 NST (Nepali Standard Time))
Venue : Goodison Park

Manchester United will be desperate to prove their critics wrong as they take on Everton at Goodison Park and return back to the winning ways after drubbing last week at the hands of City.

SAF will be desperate to make a point but Everton are a tough nut to crack. They play with 10 men at the back and hit other teams on counter, so it will be interesting to see which team will Ferguson go for.

Ashley Young is out injured with a toe injury, whereas there have been rumors that Ferguson will leave Evra and Ferdinand from the squad. Jonathan Evans is suspended for this fixture so will take no part in this game. Tom Cleverly is back and played Carling cup match against Aldershot which is a major plus point for the team.

Everton will be aware of wounded Man Utd. but will be eager to play it safe but being a good them they will expect at least a point from this game.

Probable line ups:

Manchester United

De Gea; C. Smaling, Jones, Vidic, Fabio; Nani, Cleverly, Valencia; Rooney, Hernandez

Everton
Howard; Neville, Heitinga, Distin, Baines; Bilyadetinov, Cahill, Fellaini, Rodwell, Drenthe; Saha

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Match Preview: Manchester United Vs Chelsea

United will proceed to the Premier League on Sunday with a clash with perennial title-contending rival Chelsea FC at Old Trafford. These two giants of the League have shared the last seven Premier League titles. The Reds have battered The Blues in the last season by winning the two-legged Champions League tie and also the title-decider at Old Trafford in the spring. Although the current season is fresh, three points for either club could be a huge plus point for the rest of the season.

MANCHESTER UNITED:

United are coming back to the League playing a draw with Benfica to open their 2011-12 UEFA Champions League campaign. United are in a roll with 4 consecutive win in the League with 18 goals and obtaining maximum 12 points. The Giants demolished Arsenal and Spurs, which were anticipated to be tough matches for United. Injuries have affected the team formation for United recently. Sir Alex Ferguson has reported no fresh injury concerns ahead of Manchester United's showdown with Chelsea at Old Trafford. Nemanja Vidic (calf), Tom Cleverley (foot) and Rafael (shoulder) remain sidelined, whilst Danny Welbeck (hamstring) is not expected to be available until next week. Changes are anticipated though, with Ferguson expected to recall many of the players who were left out of his starting line-up for the midweek Champions League draw with Benfica.

CHELSEA:

With 2-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in Champions League, the Blues are high in moral. Chelsea stands in the third position in the table with 3 win and a draw, earning 10 points behind Manchester City. This will be a testing times for Andre Villas Boas, Chelsea's new manager. Chelsea will once again be without Didier Drogba. The striker will not be risked at Old Trafford three weeks after his sickening head injury, meaning manager Andre Villas-Boas must decide whether to start Fernando Torres or Nicolas Anelka. Ramires returns after being suspended for Tuesday's Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen, while goalkeeping understudies Hilario and Ross Turnbull are both carrying knocks, although one will be on the bench.

United (Probable, 4-4-2): De Gea; Smalling, Ferdinand, Jones, Evra; Nani, Anderson, Giggs, Young; Rooney, Hernandez.

Match Time:

8:45 pm

Sunday

September 18

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Match Preview : Manchester United Vs Arsenal

Manchester United will face arch-rivals Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday. This game in my view is the toughest game for Arsenal this season with United looking good and Arsenal losing key players. Mean while Arsenal have lost seven and drawn one game in OT.

MANCHESTER UNITED:

United look in terrific form with the young lads showing their worth in the first two games. De Gea looked confident against Spurs. Injuries to Vidic and Ferdinand could have been a problem but Jones and Smalling look confident in every game against the opposing strikers.United attacking play has been flawless this season with neat passes and nice co-ordination between every attacking players.

ARSENAL:

Losing Fabregas and Nasri, Gunners don't seem to be the team to look for this season. They improved their poor start to the domestic campaign by qualifying for CL. Still Udinese looked the better team in both legs. A 0-0 draw with Newcastle and 2-0 loss to Liverpool in the first two games shows the weakness of the Arsenal team this season.

LAST SEASON:

Arsenal won in Emirates 1-0 with Ramsey scoring and United won in OT 1-0 with Park Ji Sung scoring.

PROBABLE XI: De Gea, Smalling, Jones, Evans, Evra, Nani, Cleverley, Anderson, Young, Rooney, Welbeck

MATCH TIME:

• 8:45-10:45 PM

• Sunday

• August 28

  
  

  I predict a 3-1 score for United. Post your predictions too
  Prediction of scorers is also appreciated

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FA COMMUNITY SHIELD MATCH PREVIEW ( SUN AUG 7 )

Match Preview : Manchester United Vs Manchester City

Manchester United and Manchester City will lock horns in the traditional curtain raiser to the English football season on August 7 at Wembley stadium.

The Red Devils will be looking to avenge their FA cup semi-final loss against the Citizens. David De Gea, Ashley Young, and Phil Jones will be the additional players to probably turn out for United this year. While the Citizens will have Sergio Aguero with their star player Carlos Tevez still uncertain to play. Other additions to the Citizens squad this summer have been Stefan Savic from FC Partizan and Gael Clichy from Arsenal.

United have been the most successful club in the Community Shield History having won the title 18 times including the last two seasons.

Fans of the Red Devils will be naturally excited to see their summer signings playing in their first competitive match. With Wayne Rooney, Nani, Smalling all one year older and wise, things seem to be good for United. Their also have been strong rumours about Sneijder joining the club. Javier Hernandez will miss the match as he is awaiting his recovery from concussion suffered during United's Tour of the States.

Manchester City new striker Sergio Aguero, brought in for a transfer fee of £ 38 million will be handed his debut in this match.

Both teams have had good pre-season preparations with United finally beating Barcelona 2-1 and Manchester City comfortably won 3-0 against Inter Milan in the Dublin Super Cup.

So everyone get ready for the first Manchester Derby of the season

Probable XI:

Manchester United: De Gea, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Smalling , Young,Anderson, Cleverly , Nani, Rooney, Berbatov

Manchester City: Hart, Kolarov, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Yaya Toure, Silva, Clichy, Wright Phillips, Balotelli, Aguero

My Prediction : 3-1 for United. What are your predictions?

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Manchester United Vs Barcelona: Head To Head

Form guide
Manchester United have a 100 percent record on the pre-season tour with numerous goals in their favour. The 4-0 battering of MLS All-Stars, 3-1 of Chicago Fire, 7-0 of Seattle Sounders and 4-1 of New England Revolutions means all the forwards who have played out in the US have been successful to find the net at least once.
Barcelona have already enjoyed much success in pre-season, getting Internacional on penalties before defeating Bayern Munich 2-0 in the Audi Cup. The new sensation Thiago Alcantara scored both the goals.

Ins and outs
Manchester United: Javier Hernandez is ruled out after suffering concussion but wouldn't have played in any case.  Sir Alex has promised he'll give lengthy run-outs to most of his stars ahead of the Community Shield on Sunday week. The boss has difficulties in choosing a goalie among David De Gea and Anders Lindegaard, who have been excellent in the tour.

Barcelona: Barcelona's Copa America players are missing including Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano and Dani Alves amongst others as well as new signing Alexis Sanchez. Xavi is back in training after an injury lay-off and should be involved.

Last meeting
The last time met was not a long time ago. They met at Wembley Stadium, 28 May 2011, in the Champions League final. A masterful performance from the Spanish Giants got them to a comfortable 3-1 victory, goals from Pedro, Messi and David Villa. Wayne Rooney's superb equaliser before half-time was, ultimately, in vain.

Top man 
Manchester United: Despite an poor start of the last season, Wayne Rooney came back with a bang after the mid season netting 17 times. Being the most succesful player for the Reds in the pre-season, Wayne has started the season too well already. He looks calm and confident and will be the key man for Manchester United.

Barcelona: For all of Messi's magic, it's arguable that Xavi was man of the match at Wembley. The midfielder ran the show with able support from Andres Iniesta and, of course, Messi who won't feature on coming game. Thus for an upcoming game Xavi will be the key man for Barcelona.

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