Premier League preview: Manchester United v Stoke City
“Never say never”, was Sir Alex Ferguson’s optimistic assessment of Manchester United’s title chances following last weekend’s results in the Premier League.
With the Red Devils now reliant on Wigan preventing Chelsea from winning at Stamford Bridge, in order to seal a record 19th championship title, their own final match of the season at Old Trafford against Stoke City threatens to be a bitter anti-climax.
Football might be surprising at times, shocking and even downright baffling; but if Carlo Ancelotti’s fired-up side were to be thwarted by the Latics – who have not won in their last 17 matches in the capital – it would surely rank among the greatest upsets in Premier League history given the significance of the match.
Regardless of the odds stacked against them, Ferguson will ensure that his players fight to the very last whistle. The veteran United boss has too much experience and pride to presume that all is lost. Strange things can and do happen in football, after all.
A large proportion of those United fans inside Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon will be too preoccupied with events in west-London to worry about what’s happening on the pitch in front of them. And sales of battery-powered radios will surge in the Salford region prior to kick-off as supporters aim to keep themselves in the loop.
But there is still a match to be won, against a set of opponents who have a reputation for being steely, determined and tough to beat. Precisely the type of squad Ferguson would have been keen to avoid on the final day of the campaign.
All the focus will inevitably be pinned on the reigning champions and their bid to wrest the Premier League trophy from Chelsea’s grasp. However, Stoke have their own mission to complete this weekend – winning a place in the top-half of the table.
With Blackburn and Fulham breathing ominously down their neck, the Potters will be gunning for a momentous upset at Old Trafford to retain 10th spot. Stoke manager Tony Pulis hailed his side’s achievements this season in the aftermath of their 1-0 victory over Europa League finalists, Fulham, on Wednesday night; and he will now be desperate to end the campaign with a victory which would rank as the best of his tenure.
Chelsea hammered seven goals past Stoke just two weeks ago; but things will undoubtedly be nervier in the north-west this Sunday, meaning the Potters are unlikely to find themselves on the receiving end of another thrashing.
To avoid a similarly embarrassing result, though, the club will need to play a lot better than when they last visited Old Trafford. Last season, they were dealt a baptism of fire and a harsh introduction to the Premier League against Manchester United, finding themselves on the receiving end of a 5-0 defeat.
If there is to be a shock this weekend and Wigan manage to stop Chelsea in their tracks, United will have a tremendous chance of winning a record fourth-consecutive league title – a remarkable achievement by any standards. It would also move the Red Devils above arch-rivals Liverpool as the English top-flight’s most decorated team.
Such a feat would spark wild celebrations at Old Trafford; but the 76,000 inside the famous arena won’t be counting their chickens until referee Martin Atkinson blows for full-time in London.
Against Bayern Munich at the end of the 1999 Champions League Final, Ferguson famously uttered the immortal sentence, “Football, eh? Bloody h**l.”
The severity of the expletive could well be raised a notch or two this weekend if Wigan do his side the biggest of favours on the final day of this gripping campaign.
Prediction: Manchester United 2 Stoke City 0
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