Man United

Saturday 1st October

English Premier League

Manchester United v Norwich

Norwich are coming off the back of two consecutive league victories, can they make it three in a rown when they travel to Old Trafford to take on the league leaders and Champions, Manchester United.

Sir Alex Ferguson will not have been happy as his side surrendered a 2-0 lead at home to FC Basel on Tuesday night and ended up drawing 3-3. It followed United’s first dropped points of the season last Saturday when a Nani goal was not enough to get all three points against Stoke who hit back through Peter Crouch. It means they are back level on points with rivals Manchester City at the top of the table. United will be hoping to welcome back their dynamic strike duo, Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez, who have both been missing through injury. Danny Wellbeck will be hoping that his two goals in midweek will be enough to keep his place upfront but with the calibre of striker coming back to fitness, it may well be that he finds himself on the substitute bench. Ferguson will be under no illusions that these are the type of games that can catch teams out; a home match against a newly promoted team on the back of a European fixture.

Paul Lambert must be delighted with his side’s start to the season, especially the last two games. He has stuck to his principles of playing attractive and expansive football which has served them so well, earning the Canaries back to back promotions. Lambert has went against the grain and done what many managers are not prepared to do – buy mainly from the lower leagues. It’s a risk strategy but the effort that his players have put in, added to their quality, would suggest that it is paying off at the moment. Monday nights 2-1 win over Sunderland was indicative of everything Norwich are about. Their two goals were really well worked using plenty of width whilst they fought for every single ball, rarely giving Sunderland any space whatsoever in behind the home defence. It’s a different test altogether tomorrow, of course it is, but it’s one that Lambert will be keen to take on and he may well spring a surprise in his team selection – he certainly won’t be scared to go with two upfront.

With Rooney and Hernadez back, Ferguson has a lot more options than he had the last couple of matches. With the form Rooney is in, the other players in the team will get a lift from his return which will hopefully eradicate the poor result in midweek from both the players and supporters memories. One man who is almost certain to start is Nani who has been in terrific form all season. Rooney has quite rightly ended a lot of plaudits this term but Nani has also been in exceptional form.

Norwich have been rocked with the news their their striker James Vaughan is out injured for several months after a serious knee injury sustained after coming on as a sub against Sunderland on Monday. It’s a cruel blow to the former Everton man who has had a series of knee problems throughout his career. Norwich are well stocked when it comes to frontmen but it will still be a sore one as he cost a couple of million which is a lot of money for them.

United will be on their guard after Norwich ran Chelsea very close earlier in the season. The romantics will be hoping for a an upset whilst the Norwich supporters will be bouyed by their back to back wins. For me, there is only one winner and I expect it to be a comfortable one at that.

My Selections: Manchester United (-2) to beat Norwich

Best odds available: 5/4 available with Unibet

English Championship

Peterborough United v Doncaster Rovers

Bottom of the table Doncaster will be looking to continue their promising start under new manager Dean Saunders when they travel south to face Peterborough.

Darren Ferguson is enjoying his second stint in charge of the Posh after a brief spell as manager of Preston last year. Successful in his initial spell, Ferguson has picked up where he left off this season as his side have won three out of four at home which see’s them sitting eight in the league. Promotion may well be out their grasp but a top half finish is probably their target despite being newly promoted. Norwich proved last season that successive promotions is possible and that promoted side’s can challenge established Championship teams throughout the season. The Posh changed a lot over the past few seasons with star players leaving for big money. One man who is still there is George Boyd who has been a constant fixture (barring a loan spell to Forest two seasons ago) at the club. The influential wide player has his admirers but he seems to play his best football under Ferguson which may well see him remain at the club for a while yet.

Dean Saunders has won one and drawn one since taken over as manager of Doncaster just last week. They still remain bottom but it is a marked improvement from a team who had gone over a month without a victory and had yet to win a game in the league. Injuries have played their part as they have lost Billy Sharp who scores most of their goals and has done for a while. However, they cannot feel sorry for themselves and must continue their good form when they travel to London tomorrow afternoon. Despite being unbeaten against Crystal Palace and Hull, Donny have a terrible away record this season. They have lost all four of their away games scoring just one and conceding nine goals. What will be even more worrying for Saunders is that they have still to face a lot of the better sides in the league in the coming weeks so they must get it sorted as soon as possible.

The Posh have already got the better of Palace, Ipswich and Burnley – Hull are the only team to leave with anything so Ferguson has built a fortress of sorts which will be crucial as they bid to not only stay in the Championship but to finish as high as possible. The destruction of Ipswich at the beginning of the month proved that there are goals galore in the team so a porous Doncaster defence best beware.

Saunders was today confirmed as permanent boss so he will go in to tomorrow’s match in the knowledge that no matter what happens, he has time to try and turn things around. A novice at this level in his managerial career, it will be interesting to see how he approaches his first away game in charge. It’s debatable whether or not Rovers have the players to play on the backfoot as they like to control the tempo of a game which is a major strength.

Doncaster have started well under new management but those games were at home where they are normally very strong. On the road is a different matter altogether and with their terrible record coupled with good home form for the Posh, I think the points will stay in London on Saturday night.

My Selection: Peterborough to beat Doncaster

Best odds available: 4/5 available with Coral

***Once again, there will be a third game previewed for Sunday’s fixtures***

Arsenal v Manchester United

A massive game for both sides, Sir Alex Ferguson has stated it as "pivotal" while Wenger has placed less importance in the fixture – the mind games begin.

Arsenal will most likely be missing defender Thomas Vermaelen (5 goals,1 assist), while fellow defender Sol Campbell will probably have to pass a late fitness test prior to the match.
Gunners striker Nicklas Bendtner (1 goal,1 assist) is in line to start as Eduardo (3 goals,4 assists) is sidelined with a hamstring.
Phillippe Senderos has joined Everton on loan until the end of the season.
Other key players also sidelined include Abou Diaby (5 goals,3 assists), Djourou, Kieran Gibbs, Merida Perez (1 goal) & Robin Van Persie (7 goals,7 assists), however Alex Song (1 goal,1 assist) and Emmanuel Eboue (1 goal,2 assists) should both be available.

Man United will be missing suspended Rio Ferdinand for four matches, while Owen Hargreaves and John O`Shea (1 goal,1 assist) remain out injured.
Defender Nemanja Vidic (1 goal) provides Ferguson with a boost as he should return from injury.

Best odds for Arsenal v Man United are available at:

Arsenal – 2.60 at Bet365 or William Hill
Draw – 3.40 SkyBet
Manchester United – 2.85 Expekt

Goal Minutes Stats for Premier League Teams (part 2)

Once more, stats relating to goals. Or lack of them.
They all relate to my TOP TEN PREMIERSHIP teams
Again all info relates to the last FOUR seasons in th PREMIERSHIP.

The first set are teams which score first and then go on to lose the match

               05/06       06/07       07/08       08/09
ARSENAL          1           0           2           1       
LIVERPOOL        0           1           0           1
MAN. UTD.        0           1           1           2
MAN. CITY.       2           0           1           4
CHELSEA          0           2           0           1
‘SPURS           0           3           4           2
FULHAM           4           2           5           2
A. VILLA         2           1           3           0
EVERTON          1           2           2           2
WEST HAM         3           2           1           2

Over the four seasons, these TEN sides scored first on SIXTY-THREE occasions BUT STILL LOST.
That’s just 4.14% "go wrong". If we restrict ourselves to the accepted "TOP FOUR" (ARSENAL. LIVERPOOL, MAN.U. AND CHELSEA) the figure drops down to .92%.

The four season totals for the "top four"  is only 13.
This would indicate to me that once you steer clear of any tight games, you can expect any of these sides  to, at least, draw once they have taken the lead.   /

This set of figures is about how often the sides can turn around a goal deficit.
The manager always calls it "character" when his team come from behind to win.
These teams have conceded the first goal then go on to win.

               05/06       06/07       07/08       08/09
ARSENAL          1           5           5           4
LIVERPOOL        0           1           3           6
MAN.UTD.         4           5           2           3
MAN.CITY         2           0           2           0
CHELSEA          4           1           4           2
‘SPURS           4           3           0           2
FULHAM           2           1           3           1
A. VILLA         0           3           3           4
EVERTON          0           1           0           2
WEST HAM         5           2           4           2

These figures show that some teams never give-in.
The surprise packet here is West Ham.  We need to keep an eye on them this season.
The disappointment here is Everton.  I find their lack of fight-back uncharacteristic of the club.   

This time we look at teams which score first can only manage to draw.

               05/06       06/07       07/08       08/09
ARSENAL          1           2           3           4
LIVERPOOL        2           0           6           2
MAN. UTD.        3           2           3           2
MAN. CITY.       0           1           3           3
CHELSEA          2           2           5           1
‘SPURS           5           2           8           1
FULHAM           3           6           5           1
A. VILLA         3           6           2           3
EVERTON          4           6           3           3
WEST HAM         1           1           7           3

This small table can clearly be divided into two. The lower half appearing to be teams that tend to rest on their laurels once they have an advantage. Then again in season 07/08 both Liverpool and Chelsea seemed to have adopted a benevolent attitude.
In general however, the top teams to appear to be the most reliable once they get the bit between their teeth.

Teams that fight back after conceding that important first goal and win themselves a point.

               05/06       06/07       07/08       08/09
ARSENAL          1           7           6           3
LIVERPOOL        3           3           2           4
MAN. UTD         1           2           2           1 
MAN. CITY.       1           1           3           2
CHELSEA          1           6           2           3                  
‘SPURS           3           5           4           3
FULHAM           0           5           4           2              
A. VILLA         4           6           9           3
EVERTON          2           5           2           4 
WEST.HAM         3           3           2           2

Looking at these figures it’s hard to decide who to admire the most. The team that stops the opposition scoring first, or the team that fights back.

Now a look at how teams fare when they give away that important first goal and fail to fight back.
These figures show how many go on to lose all three points.

               05/06       06/07       07/08       08/09
ARSENAL         10           8           1           5
LIVERPOOL        6           9           4           1
MAN. UTD.        5           4           4           2
MAN. CITY.      19          18          12          14
CHELSEA          5           1           3           4
‘SPURS           9           9          10          13
FULHAM          14          13          13          11
A. VILLA        14           9           7          10
EVERTON         15           8           9           7
WEST HAM        12          19          14          13

Once more it would appear that the generally accepted BIG FOUR are the most reliable in this category, too.

Finally a set of figures which shows which teams really mean business.
These sides take the lead and then make sure they get the three points.

               05/06       06/07       07/08       08/09
ARSENAL         19          14          19          16
LIVERPOOL       25          19          18          19
MAN. UTD.       21          23          23          25
MAN. CITY.      11          11          13          15
CHELSEA         25          23          21          23
‘SPURS          14          14          11          12
FULHAM          12           7           5          13
A. VILLA        10           8          13          13
EVERTON         14          14          19          15
WEST HAM        11          10           9          12 

This last table shows that the most consistent teams really are those we know as the BIG FOUR.
However this season, the emergence of both Man City and ‘Spurs, could mean that there will be a REAL CHALLENGE for those CHAMPIONS LEAGUE places.

These figures will be of most use to those of you who like to TRADE whilst the match is in progress, or are enamoured of SPREAD BETTING.
Nevertheless they do make interesting reading for anyone who has an interest in trying to find those elusive winners.

Saturday 14^th March

Manchester United v Liverpool

It’s all or nothing for Liverpool tomorrow afternoon. Win and they still retain hopes of catching Manchester United at the top of the English Premiership. Lose and they will be locked in a battle with Chelsea for 2^nd place and Automatic qualification into the Champions League.

Both sides are coming into this match off the back of excellent victories in the European arena. United eased past Italian Champions, Inter Milan by scoring an early goal in either half and always looked like they could move through the gears if needed. Liverpool turned in the best performance of the week by destroying Spanish Champions, Real Madrid, 4-0 at Anfield. Madrid may not be as good as they once were but the performance of Liverpool should not be under-estimated, they played some of their best football they ever have done under the stewardship of Rafa Benitez.

It will be interesting to see how the away side set up for the lunchtime fixture. Should they attempt to match United like for like and play an open match, you can only see the Champions running over the top of them as they have the better quality of player for that kind of match. It is more likely that Benitez will adopt his European style formation with Torres as a lone striker, ably supported by Steven Gerrard and whoever plays in the wide positions for Liverpool, most likely Ryan Babel and Dirk Kuyt.

Sir Alex Ferguson will know that a win for his side would all but wrap up the title and he’ll be of the opinion that the sooner they can secure this League, the better it will be for their chances in the other competitions. He may choose to shuffle his pack around with the likes of Anderson, Darren Fletcher, Park Ji Sung and Carlos Tevez all pushing for a starting place. The usual suspects will fill the back first 5 positions on the team-sheet, but there may be one or two surprises in the home side’s line-up as Ferguson was not best pleased with how his players performed in the 2^nd half.

Man United will be hurting after losing to Liverpool at Anfield earlier on in the season. It was the first time that Ferguson suffered a reverse in the league at the hands of Rafa Benitez. Liverpool have not won at Old Trafford since 2004 and have lost on their last 4 visits to the Theatre of Dreams, including a 3-0 mauling last season. Fergie knows what beating Liverpool means to the United fans and the likes of Scholes, Rooney, Giggs and Ferdinand will be determined to avenge the 2-1 defeat in September.

The match can go two ways. Liverpool may play with a bit more freedom following their midweek victory over Madrid with a little pressure off them as no-one expects them to win the title anymore. Or it could go the way many expect it to with United powering on to their 3^rd successive EPL title victory by defeating their arch rivals and leaving no-one in doubt that they are the best team in the land by a wide margin.

Liverpool will have a chance if they repeat Tuesday night’s performance but United are in scintillating form at present and look an excellent wager.

My selection: Manchester United to beat Liverpool

Best price available: United are 10/11 with Williamhill

English Championship

Swansea v Crystal Palace

A huge match for the home side as they look to heap the pressure on the sides above them as they currently lie one position outside of the play-off positions.

Saturday’s visitors are Crystal Palace who themselves look liked play-off hopefuls over the Christmas period. Since their good run, they have tailed off and have only managed to win two league matches in 2009 in 10 attempts. A run which see’s them 10 points off of tomorrow hosts, albeit with one game in hand. Maybe even more alarmingly for manager Paul Warnock is the fact they’ve conceded 8 goals in their last 3 away matches including 4 in their last outing against Burnley in midweek – a side who play similar football to tomorrow’s opponents.

Swansea have not won as many games as they may have wished recently, drawing 3 of their last 4 Championship matches. 2 of their draws did come in difficult away matches against Derby and Nottingham Forest whilst they defeated a side who had taken points off of Reading, Wolves and Sheffield United in recent weeks in the shape of Plymouth. Roberto Martinez knows his side must grind out similar wins if they are to move up the table, starting tomorrow.

Swansea have suffered defeat only once on home soil and that was back in November against 2^nd place Birmingham. With 9 wins and 9 draws from their other 18 matches at the Liberty Stadium, visiting teams know they will have to go some to taking all 3 points home with them. Swansea can also boast the 3^rd highest total in home goals scored, behind Reading and Wolves.

Palace have not been great away from home, picking up just 5 victories from 18 matches thus far, losing a massive 10 of those. Their bid for a win here will not be helped by the loss of a couple of key defenders and with this being the case, Swansea’s inform striker, Jason Scotland, may prove to be very problematic.

Swansea know they require wins to get into the much coveted play off places and I can see them getting one tomorrow by brushing Crystal Palace aside. Also, Jason Scotland is in terrific form so have a little stake on him scoring at anytime.

My selection: Swansea to beat Crystal Palace

Jason Scotland to score anytime

Best price available: Swansea are 5/6 with Coral

Jason Scotland to score anytime is 5/4 with Bet365

Fulham V Manchester United Saturday 17:15

One of two all Premiership ties which sees Manchester United make the trip down to London to take on Fulham at Craven Cottage. The pair did meet three weeks ago and Fulham were comfortably beaten 3-0. That was however at Old Trafford and what is worth mentioning is that none of the big four this season have gone to the ‘Cottage’ and walked away with all three points. They beat Arsenal 1-0 while they held Chelsea to a 2-2 draw back in London.

Fulham have been drastic on the road this season and will be breathing a sigh of relief that they draw dealt them a home tie despite it being a very tricky one on paper against current leaders Manchester United. Their home form looks very impressive at 8-3-1 while their goal record at home stands at 21-9 which is half decent by anyone’s standards.
          Fulham did manage to pick up a huge point at the weekend when they drew with Arsenal at The Emirates. Their previous home game seen them beat a poor West Brom side 2-0 while they beat Portsmouth 3-1 the game before to notch up back-to-back home wins. Fulham have played some decent football at home and  haven’t lost at Craven Cottage in nine league games so Manchester United certainly have a game on their hands.

World Club Championship – Check, Carling Cup – Check, FA Cup – Pending. United are still in every competition and have already added two pieces of silverware to their prestigious trophy cabinet. Surely the FA Cup isn’t going back to Manchester for a record 12th time, can it? Where they to make it to the final it would be their 19th appearance in an FA Cup final and many are touting them as short favourites to go the distance.
        We wouldn’t put anyone off backing United to go all the way as they are in scintillating form right now. They are top of the Premiership after going on a run of 12 straight wins while the players will be in buoyant mood after securing the Carling Cup last Sunday. United fear no one on their travels and haven’t lost away from Old Trafford since their visit to Arsenal, eight league games ago. They have since won five of their last seven away league games and have kept a clean sheet in their previous seven away matches. This is starting to look more like a formality the more you look at it to be brutally honest.

Match Odds –
Fulham 7/2  BetFred 
Draw 12/5 SportingBet  
Manchester United 10/11 SkyBet

Prediction – Manchester United

Manchester United V Chelsea Sunday 16:00 Sky Sports

The match of the weekend sees the current champions host last seasons runners ups. The is a six pointer as far as these two sides are concerned with defeat being a drastic result for both teams. Chelsea have the edge going this fixture and currently four points in front of their rivals. The pair have already met earlier in the season at Stamford Bridge and the match finished in a draw. This could be another tough match to call.

Manchester United do have two games in hand over Chelsea but they cannot to be complacent. If they were to lose to Phil Scolari’s Chelsea, they would fall a further seven points behind Chelsea and could potentially finish the weekend ten points behind leaders Liverpool. The pressure will be on United to get the win they desperately need and that hunger could be the key factor in this match. United do have no injury worries so Sir Alex Ferguson should have an array of talent to choose from. Christiano Ronaldo was rested in United’s 3-0 win at Southampton on Sunday. Fergie obviously had one eye on this fixture as Rooney only played in the second half. The Red Devils have yet to taste defeat at Old Trafford this season but they have failed to beat all the big four when they have met so that could be a mental blow for the United players.

Chelsea have also failed to beat any of the big four this season and have lost two of their home fixtures to Liverpool and Arsenal. They simply cannot afford to drop any points this weekend as it would drag Manchester United back into the title race. They have done a lot better away from home though this season and haven’t lost a single away match this season. They were on a run of 8 straight away wins before they clashed with both Everton and Fulham. That does mean they haven’t won away in two so that could also affect the Chelsea players mentally. A huge positive will be the return of the powerhouse that is Didier Drogba. He has failed to make a real impression in his few starts since his injury but he has the potential to turn games in Chelsea’s favour. Frank Lampard could be their key player this Sunday after he scored twice in their last Premiership fixture away at Fulham. It would take a brave man to split these two and this is a match no one should miss.

Match Odds -
Manchester United 13/10 Skybet
Draw 11/5 Bet365
Chelsea 5/2 Skybet

Prediction – Manchester United

Aston Villa V Manchester United Saturday 17:30 Setanta Sports

Martin O’Neill will be very optimistic about his sides chances on Saturday against the current league champions after pulling off a fantastic result at the weekend at The Emirates. Their 2-0 victory over Arsenal was fully deserved in our opinion and go into this tough fixture with the utmost of respect. Manchester United on the other hand made very light work of Stoke City at Old Trafford and will be looking to carry on their good form into Saturday’s evening kick off.

Aston Villa don’t have a very good record against Manchester United in the league and have picked up just the one point in their previous 12 league meetings. Their problem in recent matches has been scoring goals and have managed just 4 goals against Manchester United in 12 games whilst conceding 20 in return. Their win over Arsenal will have given the team a welcome confidence boost and should go into the game fearless of their opposition. They do look the only side at present that could potential cause an upset to the top four and will want to prove they can stick it with the big boys this Saturday. Gabriel Agbonlahor is the clubs top goalscorer this season and he will be their main goal threat on Saturday.

Sir Alex Ferguson will know this is a must win game if they are to keep up with Chelsea and Liverpool at the top of the table. With both of those sides appealingly having fairly easy home fixtures on Saturday . They are already 9 points behind the pair but with a game in hand. A defeat though on Saturday could see them fall 12 points off the pace. Their 5-0 home victory over Stoke City came as no surprise and it was a breathe of fresh air to see Manchester United back in full flow with Ronaldo bagging a brace. Their form of late has been good with their away defeat at Arsenal being their only defeat in eight. Their away form overall has been very sketchy so far though and have won just two of their six away league fixtures. They will need to start playing a lot better on their travels if they are to keep up with the pace setters.

Match odds -
Aston Villa 4/1 Bet365
Draw 12/5 Bet365
West Ham 5/6 888sport

Prediction – Draw