Premier League: Stoke City vs. Manchester United – Match Preview
It may be hard to believe, but Manchester United will
finally be in the news for affairs on the pitch rather than the Wayne Rooney saga. Now that Wayne Rooney has finally put pen to paper on a 5-year contract at Old Trafford, it’s time to play some football.
Even though United are currently 4th in the table after 8 games, they are still unbeaten in the league. The problem has been playing away from home, an issue that one would not normally associate with the Red Devils.
But such has been their form this season that they have started to concede goals consistently, especially after taking the lead. In the past, United were known to be the team to get late goals, but lately they have been giving away stoppage time goals. The
biggest example of that was against Everton, where Manchester United managed to let a lead of 3-1 slip and let in 2 goals in stoppage time to end the match at 3-3. Later on, they lost a 2 goal advantage at Fulham and the same happened at home for the first
time last weekend against West Brom: a problem that Sir Alex Ferguson would surely be looking to resolve. The trip to Stoke City would be their 5th away game this season, and the first 4 ended in draws. United would no doubt be looking to end the
away game curse and get back to winning ways.
The 2010-11 season marks the 3rd consecutive season for Stoke City in the top flight. Stoke have done pretty good this season; they have won 3 games and are in the 9th place after 8 games. The campaign also
includes one loss and 4 defeats. Considering Stoke are not a seasoned top-flight team, they have done rather well in the last 3 years. However, their record against Manchester United is not something to boast about: in their last 4 meetings, Stoke have not
managed to get a single point away from the Red Devils.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson may be expected to make a number of changes to the team that played midweek in the Champions League. Edwin van der Sar is expected to be back in goal. The full-back positions may not
see any change, as Rafael de Silva has established himself as the preferred choice in the right-back spot, while Patrice Evra has been a permanent fixture at left-back for a few seasons now. Club captain Nemanja Vidic would also retain his position in the
centre of defence while his able partner Rio Ferdinand may be back to partner him.
Midfield for United, though, still may be up for grabs, especially if one takes into account the number of injuries in the squad. Nani, at the moment, is in the form of his life and should be a starter on the right wing. Michael
Carrick failed to impress in the Champions League match against Bursaspor, and Paul Scholes may be recalled in the centre of midfield. Darren Fetcher has been consistent and whenever he has played alongside Scholes, he has come up with an impressive show.
The final spot in midfield, that is on the left flank, may be of some debate; the Frenchman Gabriel Obertan has been putting up consistent performances in reserve side and is staking a claim for a start. Ferguson may opt to give him a go, after a decent show
in the Champions League game as a substitute.
And finally and most importantly, there is the issue of strikers: with Wayne Rooney out for 3 more weeks due to an ankle problem, Ferguson may opt to go with Javier Hernandez; the Mexican has already scored his first goals in the
Champions League and Premier League. Federico Macheda was given a start in the Champions League but was surely not at his best. Dimitar Berbatov, on the other hand, is a sure-shot starter given his remarkable form this season; the Bulgarian has already scored
7 goals this season.
Manchester United should be easy winners on paper, but their poor away from home cannot be ignored and Stoke may fancy at least a point at home.
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