Old rivals Gunners host the Red Devils to get that second place.

After their victory in the league cup over Manchester City, Manchester United has a bigger test to face when they will be up against their placed Gunners at the Emirates Stadium. The timing of the match seems to be perfect when the premier league is at its most crunch time. After their loss to Chelsea during the mid-week, Birmingham City will be hoping to get the winning form back when they will be facing fourth placed Tottenham Hotspurs this Sunday. Chelsea will be having an easy run on the top when they will be meeting Burnley this Saturday. What will excite the blues will be the result of the Arsenal-Man United match.

Just one point separate the Gunners and the Red Devils for the second and the third place and this one is all what the two teams are waiting for. Rio Ferdinand will be out for four matches starting the current match after he was handed a four match ban by the FA after his violent conduct against Hull City on 23rd January. Other than that Manchester United will be going with their usual squad featuring Wayne Rooney up front whose current form is definitely a reason to worry for his opponents.
Arsenal on the other hand will be banking on the experience of their latest signing Sol Campbell for the all important fixture. According to thier manager Sir Arsene Wenger , Thomas Vermaelen may sit out after he picked up injury against Aston Villa in the mid week. Eduardo is certain to miss this game so that he gets match fit for the next match against Chelsea. Whatever the result comes out to be, Chelsea is sure to get some benefit out of it. The match will be starting at 1600 Hours GMT (2130 Hours IST) on Sunday. Don’t miss the action… Matches in the coming days are: Saturday:
Birmingham City Vs Tottenham Hotspurs 1500 Hours GMT
Fulham Vs Astov Villa 1500 Hours GMT
Hull City VS Wolverhampton Wanderers 1500 Hours GMT
Liverpool Vs Bolton Wanderers 1500 Hours GMT
West Ham United Vs Blackburn Rovers 1500 Hours GMT
Wigan AthleticVs Everton 1500 Hours GMT
Burnley Vs Chelsea 1730 Hours GMT

Sunday:
Manchester City Vs Portsmouth 1330 Hours GMT

Monday:
Sunderland Vs Stoke City 2000 Hours GMT

Tuesday:
Hull City Vs Chelsea 1945 Hours GMT

Wednesday:
Fulham Vs Portsmouth 2000 Hours GMT

Ex-United Tevez takes City to Victory, United takes home the Crucial away goal.

Two goals by former Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez sealed the home win forManchester City in the league cup semi-final first leg at the city of Manchester Stadium. Although it was the visiting side taking the initial lead in the 17th minute through Welsh winger Ryan Giggs but the Argentine took City home with his double, final score being 2-1 for City. The big positive that Manchester United can take home for the return leg is the crucial away goal.

Pre-match everything was near perfection in the United camp with the return of Ryan Giggs in the mid field andEdwin Van der Sar at the goal. With wasting no time the Red Devils took the lead as early as the 17th minute through veteran winger and the skipper for the night Ryan Giggs when Valencia crossed the ball from the right corner which was directed by Wayne Rooney to the goal but the goal keeper Shay Given couldn’t hold the ball and deflected it only to find Giggs for an easy finish in the end.
On the other side Manchester City wasn’t really in the game with the maximum possession in United favour. But it was City who equalised in the 42nd minute through a controversial penalty awarded by the referee Mike Dean, looking into the replay Rafael made the contact outside the penalty area with Craig Bellamy which running for the ball and after that Bellamy took full use of the situation by diving in the box to give his side the spot kick. Tevezlevelled the scoreline after Van der Sar dived in the wrong direction. Half time score 1-1.

The home side got the vital lead in the 65 minute when a another controversial corner ball was punched by Van der Sar only to land up with Vincent Kompanywho chipped it to Tevez to head it into the back of the net. Replay show that Vincent Kompanywas in offside postion but that was not judged by the referee.
So in the end City took home the fixture but now all eyes are on 27th January fixture for the return leg at the Old Trafford. With the lead not wide enough the match is open for both the sides but with City having an upper hand.

Premier league snow stormed but frustration for Manchester United continues.

Playing in this type of weather can be hazardous for players as a result many of thepremier league matches were postponed due to heavy snowfall.

While the two matches which completed its 90 minutes were drawn, that included current champions Manchester United’s stalemate against Birmingham city and Arsenal’s draw against Everton. Nothing seems to be goingManchester United’s way, first FA Cup blunder against Leeds United and now the premier league where they are still to register a win in 2010. In their last match against Birmingham city at St. Andrews, it was home team that scored both the goals, one own goal, which resulted in a 1-1 draw. Pre match, Birmingham city is having the their best season so far with an unbeaten record of 10 matches in the premiership. What Sir Alex will be wondering will be that their ace strikers like Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berabtov are not finding the net that often as they should be.

In the 24th minute, Wayne Rooney came very close to score the first goal when a great long ball from Valencia gotRooney unguarded but it was City’s goal keeper Joe Hart who dived in and made it sure that the ball headed for the corner. Birmingham city got a shocking lead in the 39th minute from a corner that resulted from Paul Scholes while blocking Jerome’s run. City went into the break with their prized lead. But the celebrations for the hast didn’t last long thanks to David Dunn who could only divert Patrice Evra’s low shot past his own goal keeper for the goal. With snow following so did United’s fortunes no goals were scored and it went bad to worse when Darren Fletcher’s second yellow in the 84th minute resulted in his sending off.

It was a rare chance that Manchester United got to go on the top but it was not to happen. And with Arsenal’s drawChelsea looks to be in the advantageous position to extend its lead over the top.

Fulham’s 3 goals leaves Manchester United with a long road to recover.

Fulham took full advantage of weak Manchester United defence by thrashing them 3-0 at home. This was red devils fifth defeat this season and could also be a big dent to their title hopes as Chelsea is already 3 points clear and Arsenal at third place is also starting to catch up. Things got worse for Liverpool as they suffered a 2-0 defeat from the hands of bottom team Portsmouth.
Things aren’t going the United way at Craven cottage. First there defence was not up to the mark because of many players being injured. Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher were again pushed to defence for the match. United’s goal keeper Kuszczakhad to stretch his legs in the 17th minute to push over Zoltan Gera’s close-range shot at goal. Fulham scored their first goal in the 22nd minute when Danny Murphy won the ball from Paul Scholes and shot from 20 yards to give the home side the much awaited lead. Half time score 1-0.

Whatever was the discussion for the reds in the half time break, it had no effect on the field as the second goal for the home side was scored just 20 seconds after the start. Damien Duff’s ball from the right was headed by Dempseyin United’s penalty area found Zamora who had no problems in getting past the United’s goal keeper. Things went worse for United 16 minutes from time when Duff scored of a brilliant pass from Zamora to give the home side 3-0 lead. The final score remain as it is.

Fratton park saw more trouble for Liverpool as they went down 2-0 against Portsmouth. Goals from Nadir Belhadj &Frederic Piquionne in each half took the Pompey’s home but they still are at the bottom of the table.
Other results are:
Aston Villa 1-0 Stoke City
Blackburn Rovers 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester City 4-3 Sunderland
Arsenal 3-0 Hull City

Extended party after a rocking weekend. Red Devils welcome Wolves.

Putting the weekend’s loss into the back of there mind, Manchester United will be planning to go level on points with leaders when they will be hosting Wolverhampton Wanderers this Tuesday. In other big match this Wednesday leaders Chelsea will be meeting bottom player Portsmouth at Stamford bridge. If the Pompey’s manage to take away this one surely they will regain some confidence and get away from the relegation trouble.
News from the rivals camp is that midfielder David Edwards and Michael Kightly are out due to there respective injuries for nearly 10 weeks. Good news is coming fromManchester United camp that Rio Ferdinand is recovering fast but is uncertain for the match, possibility is that Edwin Van der Sar might be brought to start as the second goal keeper but his return to the starting 11 will be delayed till the next weekend. Sir Alex is taking no risks against defender Gary Neville as his groin trouble has still not heeled to that extent.

Ryan Giggs will be in the captain’s role and fireworks will be expected from Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov who just could’t find the net in the previous match.

After a draw against Everton, Chelsea will be hoping to turn the tables in their favour against the team which is already facing relegation troubles. Portsmouth on the other hand will be hoping for some giant killer stuff and find out the way out of the bottom 3.
The match at Old Trafford will be starting at 2000 Hours GMT (0130 Hours IST), while the match at Stamford Bridge will be starting 15 minutes earlier the next day.
Other matches during the next two days are:
Tuesday
Sunderland Vs Aston Villa 1945 Hours GMT
Birmingham City Vs Blackburn Rovers 2000 Hours GMT
Bolton Wanderers Vs West Ham United 2000 Hours GMT

Wednesday
Burnley Vs Arsenal
Liverpool Vs Wigan Athletic 2000 Hours GMT
Tottenham Hotspur Vs Manchester City 2000 Hours GMT

Manchester United travels to Germany with a long Injury list, Oportuinity for young players.

n the last champions’ league group stage match, Manchester United will be travelling to Germany to face Wolfsburg VfL in what is a no stress match for the red devils but for the home side this is big match for them considering the situation the there group. In the other match, Besiktas JK will be up against CSKA Moscow in Istanbul. The situation for the Russian side is complex as they have to bank on the match at Germany and hope that there team secure more points than Wolfsburg to have a chance of going to the next stage.

Also a consolation may be waiting for Beşiktaş but they have to secure a win better than 2-1 and hope the German side do not lose in order to finish third and earn transfer to the UEFA Europa League round of 32. Pretty complex, isn’t it???
Worry for Manchester United that their whole lot of players will be out for the match which includes Rio Ferdinand, Goal keeper Edwin Van der Sar, Nemanja Vidić, Gary Neville, Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney among others. But Sir Alex is confident of a good show at the VfL Wolfsburg Arena. His main concern will be reducing the injury list for the coming weekend’s premier league match against Aston Villa. Ryan Giggs will be seen in an extended role and could be seen in the thick of the action in the mid field and also not to forget Paul Scholes and Michael Owen role. This is also a huge opportuinity for the upcoming young red devils specially Darren Gibson who put up a good show in last week’s match against West Ham United.

Other big matches on that day are:
Group A: Juventus Vs FC Bayern München
Maccabi Haifa FC v FC Girondins de Bordeaux

Group C: FC Zürich v AC Milan
Olympique de Marseille Vs Real Madrid CF

Group D: Chelsea FC Vs APOEL FC
Club Atlético de Madrid Vs FC Porto
All matches will be starting at 2045 Hours GMT (0245 Hours IST)

Started by Fletcher, ended by Valencia. Clean sheet for United.

The stage was set for the big day and the teams performed as expected with some giant killing touch in it. The premiership Saturday saw some exciting matches and of course some major change in the top four of the table with Manchester United going to second place after their win against Everton and Arsenal loosing to Sunderland and it was business as usual for Chelsea which had no problems in beatingWolverhampton Wanderers.
It was a chilly day at Old Trafford and United needed a win to prove that the defeat against the premier league leaders was totally unjust and 75000+ strong crowd expected the same.

There were some minor changes applied at the back by Sir Alex where Rafael replaced John O’Shea on the right and fit-again Nemanja Vidic returned to the centre in place of the recently injured Jonny Evans. Michael Owen was the extra man for the attack.
The home side’s first chance came as early as the sixth minute when Fletcher’s shot was just wide of former Red Devils’s keeper Tim Howard. While the home side kept attacking Everton’s goal, the goal finally came in the 34th minute when Patrice Evra crossed from the left-hand byline, Valencia headed it down to Fletcher who flashed a stunning volley into the top left-hand corner, giving no chance to the keeper. One of the best goals seen in thepremiership this season. The match went in to the break with United leading 1-0.

In the second half, Everton’s goal was disallowed in the 55th minute due to offside when Marouane Fellaini shot with a great kick beating United’s goal keeper Edwin Van der Sar. After that in the 60th minute Rooney’s long shot just kissed the top crossbar. The second for Man United finally came in the 66th minute when Wayne’s wayward attempt was kept in play by Giggs and the Welshman passes to Carrick to stroke the ball left-footed into the bottom right-hand corner. And with 15 minutes remaining United finally came up with a third through Valencia who got it offBaines’s deflection.
So in the end a clean sheet for United which looks fired up after the break and gives some strong signals to the leaders Chelsea that “that place is ours”.

Sir Alex not at touchline. Manchester United to play Everton.

After securing their country’s spot in the world cup finals in South Africa (while some couldn’t), the players are back to their round the year never ending playing season in the English premier league. It will be interesting to see the Gunners, who are 5 points behind, catch the leaders Chelsea with a game in hand while Manchester United needs to get their touch back and not to forget the underdogs Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspurs who may take the only champions league qualifying spot. Liverpool will have to fight their way into the mainstream to pose any serious threat to the leader but as of now they need to come back to winning ways at least!!! Match week 13 has many things to offer, leaders Chelsea host Wolverhampton Wanderers and will be aiming to secure full three points against the side who is struggling at 19 place and needs some serious upliftment which is unlikely to happen unless some new giant killer is born.

After a forgettable last match against Chelsea, Manchester United will be all fired up when they will be hostingWayne Rooney’s former club Everton who is currently at 12th position and a win for the visiting side will take them two-to –three places up.

Adding to ongoing controversy, Sir Alex Ferguson has been banned for four matches from touchline following his recent comments made about referee Alan Wiley, although two games are suspended until the end of the 2010/11 season. He was also fined £20,000 and warned about his future conduct.

In a early kick-off this Saturday, Liverpool will host Manchester City hoping to win the fixture. A win against the Manchester Club will be a big boost for them both in terms of position as well as and rebuilding their confidence. Other matches this week are:

Saturday
Birmingham City Vs Fulham
Burnley Vs Aston Villa
Hull City Vs West Ham United
Arsenal Vs Sunderland

Sunday
Bolton Wanderers Vs Blackburn Rovers
Tottenham Hotspurs Vs Wigan
Stoke Vs Portsmouth

Monday night
Hull City Vs Everton
Fulham Vs Blackburn Rovers

The match at old Trafford will be starting at 1730 Hours GMT (2300 Hours IST). Berbatov will score and a 3-0 score is predicted for the red devils.

Would Igor Akinfeev make it to United????

As the times goes past in quick succession and Manchester United’s goal keeper Edwin Van der Sar in the twilight of his career at Old Trafford and Ben Forster’s inability to secure the goal gives rise to a new question. Who after Van der Sar??? As the past roumers in European press and else where has suggested talks between Sir Alex and CSKA Moscow’s Igor Akinfeev, the nest question that arises is that will this move take place?

Igor Akinfeev, age 21, is a goal keeper for Russia as well as for club side a href=”http://www.pfc-cska.com” target=”_blank”>CSKA Moscow Igor Akinfeev made his debut for Russian national team as the youngest player ever aged 18 years and 20 days in a friendly match against Norway on April 28, 2004. His first major competitive debut was on 30 March 2005 in a 2006 World Cup qualifier against Estonia and was later promoted as Russia’s first-choice goalkeeper. The initial reports were that Sir Alex is trying hard to get the Russian into his side. Even Akinfeevhimself said that “ I am a huge Fergie fan” before the first leg of the champions league tie of the red devils against them. He showed his great saves in a href=”http://www.pfc-cska.com” target=”_blank”>CSKA’s 3-3 draw at Old Trafford in the return leg recently. In the recent development over this transfer news new reports a week ago has gone against this interest. The Telegraph of UK has state that it was only a roumer according to Sir Alex and the manager is not interested in him. He also sais that he is happy with the present goal keepers.
Now with Ferdinand linked to Tottenham for the next season and Van der Sar… There can be a big hole in defence of United which can be the exploiting point for their opponents. As the talks may be closed for now, who know that when January comes there is a sudden lucrative deal is ready for the goalkeeper who may be very tempted finalise it!!!

Action packed weekend! Manchester United may play without Alex…

After a long never ending 15 days, the wait is finally over and the premiership is back this weekend and there is plenty of action over the next three days. Premiership Saturdays is truly living on its name with all the big four amongst others will be in action this Saturday. In the early kick off tomorrow, current leaders Chelsea will be up against Aston Villa at Villa Park while their fellow Londoners Arsenal will be hosting Birmingham City. The big match for the day will be Manchester United Vs Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford and the other reds i.e. Liverpool will visit the Stadium Of Light for a match against Sunderland. Apart from Chelsea’s match, which will be starting at 1245 Hours GMT (1715 Hours GMT), all other matches will be starting at 1500 Hours GMT (1930 Hours IST) on Saturday.

There is much of controversy going on after Sunderland’s match two weeks ago with Sir Alex Ferguson may have to face a touch line ban for this match. All this happened when Sir Alex was furious after a penalty was denied in United’s favour when Nani was knocked down by Andy Reid in the penalty box. Post match comments by the ace manager challenging that match’s referee Alan Wiley fitness and his awarness on the field made his liable for penalty and even after offering a public apology over the issue, may be suspended by referees’ chief Alan Leighton, who has called for a Uefa-style touchline ban which may prevent Ferguson having any contact with his team during a match. Michael Owen and goalie Edwin Van der Sar are unlikely to start as both of them haven’t fully recovered from there injuries and Sir Alex is in no hurry as some crucial matches are about to come up.
The other matches over the weekend are:
Saturday
Everton Vs Wolverhampton Wanderers 1500 Hours GMT
Portsmouth Vs Tottenham Hotspurs 1500 Hours GMT
Stoke City Vs West Ham United 1500 Hours GMT
Sunday
Blackburn Rovers Vs Burnley 1300 Hours GMT
Wigan Athletic Vs Manchester City 1600 Hours GMT
Monday
Fulham Vs Hull City 2000 Hours GMT