Manchester United versus Sunderland - Preview
If weather permits, this Boxing Day will see Manchester United go up against Sunderland in a bid to go five points clear at the top of the table, as Arsenal and Chelsea play each other on Monday. United currently lead the pack with 34 points, Arsenal and
Manchester City both have 32, while http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 have 31. And something that puts somewhat of a smile on Sir Alex Ferguson’s face is the fact that they have a game in hand on both Arsenal and Chelsea, and two games in hand on local rivals Manchester City.
United’s last game was supposed to be against Chelsea last weekend, but it was called off due to adverse weather conditions, and even though the pitches in modern day football have under soil heating, going on with the planned schedule might’ve meant forfeiting
the safety of the fans in and around the stadium.
So, the last time United actually took to the pitch was in that uninteresting top of the table clash against Arsenal. United set up defensively with eight players behind the ball, but still managed to provide more of an attacking threat compared to a wayward
and lost Arsenal who were clearly lacking ideas against staunch and hearty defending. United came out 1-0 victors, courtesy of a Ji-Sung Park header, a header fit for Javier Hernandez’s collection of “weird and improvised efforts”. It was a chance that had
much probability of going in as the American President does of getting abducted by aliens. After that goal went in, President Obama must have been looking to the skies, ominously in search of UFOs.
Steve Bruce takes his side back to the Old Trafford, the stadium where he showcased his ability as a no-nonsense defender and as an integral part of one of Sir Alex’s sides of the past. Bruce has been a United captain in the past and a return to the place
where he plied his trade is always emotional. Steve Bruce’s side have a voodoo against them, a voodoo where they concede late goals against United to drop points. Two years ago, this game looked set to be heading for a 0-0 draw when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nemanja-Vidic-c27550 pounced on
a rebound to give United the win in extra time. And last year, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Anton-Ferdinand-c6260 was unfortunate to deflect Patrice Evra’s shot, which was going wide of the goal, into the net to earn United a 2-2 draw.
This year, Bruce will certainly be hoping for some sort of break in this continually developing theme, and he will be hoping his team have the guts to go about and put out a performance that might just earn them some points. Don’t forget that this is the
same team that absolutely tore Chelsea to shreds last month, when they won 3-0 at Stamford Bridge to kick start Chelsea’s fall from grace.
Sir Alex will certainly be wary of the threat that Gyan and Welback can pose upfront, and add a fit and firing http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Darren-Bent-c10358 to the equation then Sunderland have some serious fire power upfront. But if there is one thing that Sir Alex Ferguson is, it’s prudent,
and we all know he will take all aspects into account before sending his team out the tunnel and onto the pitch. And the United players really should make sure they don’t get Sir Alex Ferguson angry this time around, after all, it is the season to be jolly.
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