The battle for Manchester – United takes on City
The battle for Manchester has reached a point where both the teams are at par and guess what... that is just what they don’t want. The arch-rivals are in a race for the title that will do more than just win them the English Premier League. It will decide
which team represents Manchester at the top.
The ’70s brought turbulence to their relations, but the real contention in the league started when City was taken over by an Arab Sheikh, financing it to “buy everything in range”.
The match-ups have become exceedingly popular worldwide, and not just for the 90-minute on-field play. There is ample drama in the game, ranging from George Best’s tackle in the ’70s on Glyn Pardoe to the feud between Haaland and Keane in 2001 to the Rafael-Tevez
row in their last encounter. Players are into mind games before getting to play on the ground.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gary-Neville-c14447 and Peter Schmeichel’s example is one of the most profound one of the rivalry the two clubs share. Schmeichel was one of the best goalkeepers United had ever had and was Gary’s mentor at Old Trafford. Schmeichel moved to City in 2002 and Gary,
then captain of United, refused to even shake hands with the ‘traitor’.
Now, City is in desperate need of a win against the arch rivals to justify the enormous amount of money they have thrown into the league. And after the end of their 29-game winning streak due to a defeat at the hands of the Wolves, United needs to prove
their unbeaten train was due to their game.
Manchester United:
Club Manager Sir Alex Ferguson is concerned by the international friendly matches coming up midweek, since many key players are appearing for their countries. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Rafael-c30340 is up for international duty and will not have the energy required for Saturday’s demanding
clash. John O’Shea may be given a chance on right back ahead of the youngster. The club could be into a deeper jam if the Serbian squad had not accepted Sir Alex’s request to leave Vidic out of the Israeli squad.
Also http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Wes-Brown-c36791 may be opted to partner Vidic
for the match.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Portugal-c2984, but considering the need of a winger in the team, he would be playing two games in four days. Van
Der Sar is also certain to start between the posts for his team.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Dimitar-Berbatov-c11254 as the only striker. He will start up-front being the season’s lead scorer. The midfield is expected to be five-man strong with Scholes, Anderson,
Fletcher, Nani and Giggs. The formation paid back against Arsenal, grabbing three points from the game. Other than the fatigue of players from mid-week matches, the players are in a fine form.
Manchester City:
Now this is a club with enough international players to form two teams. The team for the match is expected to go without the Italian http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Edin-Džeko-c11941 was given a break by the coach to appear for Bosnia. And
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-Silva-c10602 is to play against Columbia as Carlos Tevez has been allowed to rest.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Pablo-Zabaleta-c29022 on the left. The midfield defence will be covered
by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Vincent-Kompany-c36184. Shaun Wright Philips may play as the winger in Adam Johnson’s place. He showed energy last Saturday against West Bromwich. The midfield will be supporting forwards Džeko and Tevez to trouble ManU. City
may continue with the same defensive strategy that they had against the Spurs and Arsenal.
Both City and United have impressive records. City has conceded more than 2.5 goals in six out of nine games. And United has averaged 2.5 goals in 20 out of 24 home league matches.
So the clash this Saturday will be a must watch!
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