Premier League: Sunderland vs. Manchester United Preview -
Mackems' injured defense vulnerable
Venue: Stadium of Light
Squad for Sunderland: Mignolet, Gordon, Onuoha, Bardsley, Angeleri, Bramble, Turner, Ferdinand, Da Silva, Cattermole, Riveros, Henderson, Malbranque, Elmohamady, Zenden, Colback, Reid, Bent, Gyan, Welbeck.
Danny Welbeck won’t be available for this match owing to his loan terms as he had joined Sunderland on loan from Manchester United.
Squad for Manchester United: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Amos, Rafael, Neville, O'Shea, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Smalling, Evra, Nani, Fletcher, Anderson, Carrick, Gibson, Park, Bebe, Berbatov, Owen, Hernandez, Macheda.
In what would be the last Premier League fixture before the International break, Manchester United take a long trip to Sunderland in what promises to be a truly grueling encounter. Manchester United are currently in one of their worst away forms, having
drawn all of their league games on the road.
The Red Devils would surely want to improve their form in order to keep tight on the title race. Their fixture against Sunderland could be a perfect way to kick off their away form. United presently sit on the number 2 spot with three points behind the leaders,
Chelsea. They remain the only unbeaten team in Premier League. They have won all of their fixtures at Old Trafford while drawing all the games on the road.
Earlier, despite being in the lead against Fulham and Everton, United blew the almost bagged points when they allowed too much space for the opposition to find the equalizing goals. But against Bolton, they had to come back from behind two times to earn
a single point.
Sunderland don’t have a good record with Manchester United as Steve Bruce hasn't managed to beat Sir Alex Ferguson while losing 12 times and drawing 3 times. But, this may be the fixture to finally get the win as the side has a good attack and are strong
so far at home. United have conceded 7 times in 3 league matches but managed to edge out against Valencia in the Champions League.
On the injury front, United would be without Wayne Rooney owing to his ankle concern. Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen, however, would be available as both are in form, this season. Berbatov has scored 6 times so far in the league while Owen has scored
thrice in two matches. The youngster, Javier Hernandez is also on song against Valencia while Federico Macheda can also be a striking option. United are short on midfield options as Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Owen Hargreaves have been declared unfit for
the encounter.
Moreover, Manchester United are also undefeated in their last 15 league games and their last loss came against Chelsea at Old Trafford in April. Their last away loss was also back in February when a tired United side was thrashed by Everton at Goodison part.
Since then, United have managed to draw four and also win four. Sunderland would be without Kieran Richardson while David Meyler, Fraizer Campbell, Anton Ferdinand, John Mensah and Michael Turner's participation in the match is also doubtful.
Last season, United had managed a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford against Sunderland while defeating them 1-0 at the Stadium of Light. Ferguson would be looking to take advantage of Sunderland's injured defense line. Javier Hernandez’s pace and Berbatov’s class
would be instrumental in this. Also, the in-form Nani would be disrupting any opposition and he may well be hot to handle.
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