FA Cup Preview: Manchester United vs. Crawley Town
It is Blue Square League versus the English Premier League as Manchester United host Crawley Town in the FA Cup. Now, Let us look at how both the sides will shape up for this historical tie, which will take place on Sunday evening at Old Trafford.
Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson’s men take on Crawley Town in the quarterfinal of the FA Cup, but it is truly a matter of David versus http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Goliath-c15093 as the Premier League leaders’ line-up against a team, which plays four tiers below them in the Blue Square League. With one eye on their UEFA Champions League round of sixteen matchup against Marseille on Tuesday night, Manchester United are set to play some of their fringe players in this encounter.
Ferguson has already made it clear that United should not take Crawley lightly as it can prove to be quite a tough tie according to the veteran Scotsman. Last year, Manchester United were knocked out of the FA Cup by their rivals Leeds United so it is a chance for some of the reserve players at the club to plead their case to Sir Alex through this matchup against Crawley.
In the last round of the FA Cup, Manchester United bested http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 on their way to the quarter-finals, courtesy of a Ryan Giggs’ penalty. However, the Welshman may not be a part of Ferguson’s plans for Crawley’s visit to the theatre of dreams.
Crawley Town
It is a fairytale story for Crawley as far as the tie against Manchester United is concerned. Crawley’s manager Steve Evans has already conceded that his players will be nervous when they play against “Master Ferguson’s” team at Old Trafford. However, the FA Cup has become famous due to its giant slaying history and if Crawley indeed pull off the improbable at Old Trafford, Evans’s name will be written in the club folklore in golden words.
With an average attendance of 1000, Crawley are dwarfed by Manchester United’s average attendance of 74,000 but there is no absence of hunger in the minnow’s ranks. Steve Evans has a lot of respect for Ferguson but he believes in his team as well. The 48-year-old said in his pre-match notes, “What we have got to do is make sure we remember we're there to compete and win a match. All we can do is our best and that means giving everything, 100 per cent effort, commitment and passion. Crawley may never get an opportunity like this ever again.”
Team News
Manchester United will be without their star striker http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Joshua-King-c19546 and Darren Gibson as most big names are already pencilled in for a rest before the Red Devils take on Marseille in their UEFA Champions League knockout tie.
Expected Manchester United line-up: Anders Lindegaard, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gabriel-Obertan-c14324, Bebe, Javier Hernandez, Joshua King
Meanwhile, Evans has a full squad available for selection bar the injury of Scott Neilson. Evans rested the likes of Sergio Torres and Craig McAllister for Crawley’s last tie against Wrexham, so both of them are expected to start against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Expected Crawley Town line-up: Michel Kuipers, John Dempster, Glenn Wilson, Dean Howell, Kyle McFadzean, Ben Smith, Sergio Torres, Pablo Mills, Willie Gibson, Matt Tubbs, Craig McAllister.
Key Players
Javier Hernandez will be the man to watch out for on Manchester United’s side as the Mexican starlet has had a fantastic start to his career in the English Premier League. The United striker has already had a massive impact on the goal-scoring charts, with seven goals in the English Premier League, for Ferguson’s team after joining them in the summer transfer window.
Crawley will be banking on Matt Tubbs to score the goals for them against Manchester United’s miserly defence. The former Salisbury City striker has already netted 28 goals this season for Crawley Town thus another miraculous performance is needed from the Englishman if Crawley are to get anything from the fixture at Old Trafford.
Prediction
Despite the romance that is floating in the air before the match itself, the quality and depth in Manchester United’s ranks is just astonishing. The tie will most likely end with the scoreline reading 4-0 in Manchester United’s favour with Hernandez on the score sheet.
(The views expressed by the writer are his own and do not reflect the editorial policy of www.bettor.com)
Tags: