Manchester United on the verge of making Champions League history; welcome Valencia
Manchester United welcome Valencia for the final group match tonight. The Red Devils only need a point to secure the top spot in Group C which would mean that United will avoid other group winners’ in the round of 16. Real Madrid,
Barcelona and Bayern Munich have already secured first place in their respective groups so Sir Alex won’t be taking the tie against the Spanish side lightly.
This is going to be United’s first game after the 4-0 humiliation at Upton Park against West Ham United (Football League Cup) so fans will be expecting a response from their stars. On the other hand, Valencia would come all out
to take revenge against the 1-0 defeat they suffered at The Mastella back in September, and to snatch the top spot from the 2008 Champions.
If Van der Sar and his teammates manage to keep a clean sheet at Old Trafford, United will become the first team in history to go through to the group stages without conceding a goal.
Sir Alex’s team has been accused of being patchy since the course of this season. The Red Devils lost their star player Cristiano Ronaldo last season but were steadied by the brilliance of England striker Wayne Rooney. However,
this term, with the number 10 struggling for form and fitness himself, the team from Old Trafford have looked sort of ordinary; even charged of being a touch lucky in their quest for local and European league glory.
However, all said and done, whether you happen to be a diehard Manchester United fan or a footballing neutral, it would be hard to believe that last year’s runners up in the Premier League have managed to get the job done given
their fitness woes. Wayne Rooney has been injured for a noticeable chunk of the season. The prospects of having a fit Owen Hargreaves have been as realistic as a hyped up ‘potential’ multi-million pound transfer link in the papers for a watchful Arsene Wenger.
Meanwhile in defence, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand have drifted in and out due to fitness concerns of their own.
However, despite all that, Manchester United has not only been able to grind out results, but have been a defence that has been impossible to crack as the Premier League giants have started their exploits for European glory this
term.
The injury news for the game against Valencia, however, sees Owen Hargreaves struggling for fitness and would therefore be unavailable for the clash. The England midfielder has been sidelined since his brief comeback against Wolverhampton
Wanderers – to add insult to injury, there has been speculation in the media that the former Bayern Munich player might literally be relieved of his duties as the club could let him go for free at the end of the season.
On a brighter note for United, Michael Owen, who was also suffering from a hamstring injury, has started training. However, this game might be a touch premature for his first-team return date. Antonio Valencia still remains out
of contention with an ankle injury and is on course in his long-term recovery.
However, since the Premier League game against Blackpool was called off due to unfavourable weather, the United side were able to get a much-needed rest. The game against Valencia could be rendered as insignificant owing to the
fact that Ferguson’s side simply has to setup for a draw in order to top their group or face the prospect of a head-to-head with Arsenal in a week’s time; it won’t be a surprise if the Scottish genius surprises us all with a strong United line-up and goes
straight for the kill.
The possible line-up for the clash could see Tomasz Kuszczak feature as goalkeeper instead of Van der Sar with an unchanged back four to complement him. Park could start yet again with the threatening Rooney–Berbatov partnership
heading the attack.
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