THE MANCHESTER DERBY ( I )   

 

 

 

     VS   

 

  Manchester City v Manchester United  

 

3 consequtives away match!

Who win? Man Utd ba?

have you guys notice, quite a few games this season, our opponents actually face arsenal before facing us..

first is Bolton, then aston villa and now man city..

Robinho targets United scalp

 

 

ROBINHO has set his sights on inflicting more pain on Cristiano Ronaldo in the Manchester derby this weekend. City’s £32.5million ace helped Brazil knock six past a Portugal side which included the United winger last week.

 

His Eastlands pal Elano was on the scoresheet that night in Brasilia and the Samba pair are now eyeing a Sunday repeat. Speaking after that 6-2 thrashing, Robinho said: “We are all looking forward to the match with United.

 

"We have good chances to win, although they are very strong. “But we play at home. We have to think that, in our stadium, we are always favourites. “And it would be great to repeat the victory I had with Brazil against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal. “I really hope Elano and I can have the same success in the derby that we enjoyed for our national team.”

 

Ronaldo was tipped to be a possible replacement for Robinho at Real Madrid all summer before eventually deciding to stay at Old Trafford. While the Brazilian was widely expected to join his countryman Phil Scolari at Chelsea before his stunning deadline day move to Eastlands.

 

Robinho, 24, said: “Chelsea? This question belongs to the past. "I’m a City player and I only think about making the club successful. “I don’t regret the choice I’ve made — I’m very happy at the club.”

 

Originally posted by Dead_Man_Inc:

3 consequtives away match!

They look pretty good and might even beat ManU so it is going to be a tough game to predict

simple maths.

if MU lose, and Chelsea/Pool wins, MU's chance of the league title this seasons is close to gone..

ROBINHO MISSES SCHALKE TRIP

 

this season fixture list is like so difficult for Man Utd.

We had to play all away to first liverpool, chelsea so early in the season and then arsenal away?

Now 3 away matches on the trot wtf fixture list?

Its good to do away with the toughest encounter,but if man u continue to trail chelsea/liverpool by 8 pts come Jan 09, it willbe very difficult to clop the gap, as always playing catchup and depending on the leaders to falter.

Last season was different circumstances cos of chelsea sacking of mourinho so early in the season, but with chelsea starting so good, difficult to see them falter, but they also had injuries to counter like essien out till next year.Liverpool this season also starting very good,really surprise they are contenders.

Man Utd is playing catchup now, cant afford to lose or draw 2 many points.

Originally posted by marcteng:

this season fixture list is like so difficult for Man Utd.

We had to play all away to first liverpool, chelsea so early in the season and then arsenal away?

Now 3 away matches on the trot wtf fixture list?

Its good to do away with the toughest encounter,but if man u continue to trail chelsea/liverpool by 8 pts come Jan 09, it willbe very difficult to clop the gap, as always playing catchup and depending on the leaders to falter.

Last season was different circumstances cos of chelsea sacking of mourinho so early in the season, but with chelsea starting so good, difficult to see them falter, but they also had injuries to counter like essien out till next year.Liverpool this season also starting very good,really surprise they are contenders.

Man Utd is playing catchup now, cant afford to lose or draw 2 many points.

agree.. I just hope that MU doesn't end up with nothing consdering that they need to go to Japan and will be two games in hand, so they need to play even more games this season.

however, some light at the end of tunnel, in that Brown, Neville, Scholes should be back then..

Originally posted by marcteng:

this season fixture list is like so difficult for Man Utd.

We had to play all away to first liverpool, chelsea so early in the season and then arsenal away?

Now 3 away matches on the trot wtf fixture list?

Its good to do away with the toughest encounter,but if man u continue to trail chelsea/liverpool by 8 pts come Jan 09, it willbe very difficult to clop the gap, as always playing catchup and depending on the leaders to falter.

Last season was different circumstances cos of chelsea sacking of mourinho so early in the season, but with chelsea starting so good, difficult to see them falter, but they also had injuries to counter like essien out till next year.Liverpool this season also starting very good,really surprise they are contenders.

Man Utd is playing catchup now, cant afford to lose or draw 2 many points.

not necc - Man U has played the all big boys away (Liverpool / Chelsea / Arsenal) and will play them at home. Of these, I think if they can get 7 points (assuming they draw Chelsea) - things will be okay. Moreover, I persoanlly think its better that they get the away games out of the way. This weekend Man City vs Man U - i think it will be a draw. Recently, Man U has not been doing too well in Manchester Derby. Also, Man U typically peak after the winter, so I think they will put together a string of good results. But I think this season, they won't win the BPL title - partly because the other teams are hungrier and showed more desire - I think Chelsea will win it.

Man Utd cannot afford to slip now. if not forever playing catchup.

Dun think they will win epl this season. as for CL, shd be favourites to win, especially Ac Milan in Uefa cup hehe.

Man Utd will also go for the FA Cup, after losing finalists in 2005 & 2007.

If not for last season loss to Portsmouth which was a freak result, man u would have won the treble if they won Portsmouth.

If Man U were to win epl this season, they better start their run now, starting this sunday against Man City.

Even if at home, man u might not beat chelsea, liverpool and arsenal at old trafford.

well, every teams suffers a dip at least once, gunners are having it, Chelsea and Liverpool havent.. so hopefully, MU can take advantage of that to get more points.

truly hoped last weekend, MU can close the gap, but then, too bad..

Berba back in contention for derby

Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has returned to training after a hamstring injury and could be in line to face City on Sunday.

The Red Devils' record £30.75million signing has missed the last two games after reporting back from international duty with a minor problem picked up against Serbia.

He was able to join his team-mates for the latter part of the training session on Thursday morning, putting him in contention to face Mark Hughes' side at Eastlands.

But Ferguson has vowed not to take any chances with the former Spurs striker and will assess his fitness over the next 72 hours.

"Dimitar started training today but hamstring injuries are never easy to deal with," said the United boss.

"We have to be careful because he has never had one before.

"We will have to gauge whether it is wise to use him from the start on Sunday or better to have him on the bench.

"It really depends how he comes through the next couple of days."

Ferguson also confirmed veteran duo Gary Neville and Paul Scholes were back in training.

Neville has been struggling with a groin injury, although he might face City, but Scholes - who had a knee operation after the Champions League trip to Aalborg on September 29 - is more likely to be held back until the return meeting with the Danes in a fortnight.

This is the FIRST TIME Manchester United goes in to a Manchester derby with a disadvantage. 

And that is Billions over Millions. So watch out...

 

Manchester City might just pull a stunt somehow...

SIX reasons why the champions won’t win away to their nouveau riche neighbours:

1. Manchester City won both Manchester derbies last season, winning the home encounter 1-0 before completeing the double with a 2-1 win at Old Trafford - United’s only home league defeat that season.

2. The home win last year wasn’t a one-off - the Citizens have won four of their last six home games against Manchester United.

3. Manchester United have won just one of their last six Premier League game and that came against struggling Blackburn.

4. Manchester City have averaged two goals a game against the Big Four so far this season whereas United have scored just seven goals in their seven away league games this season - Hull have scored double that in the same number of games.

5. Mark Hughes has a strong record against his former club having lost just one home game of four against the champions, as well as twice taking points from Old Trafford.

6. Spot what should come next in Manchester City’s home form pattern: LWW LWW LW?

 

chickendinner.co.uk

Superman to the Rescue

It’s hard to steal the Eastlands spotlight from Robinho, but Stephen Ireland has done just that in the last few weeks. The man in the Superman pants has been out of this world, scoring goals for fun.

This run of form began two weeks ago at Hull City where his brace secured a hard-fought 2-2 draw. He followed this up with an inspirational performance against Arsenal, scoring the opener, and picking apart a ramshackle Gunners defence at will. Ireland got on the score sheet again in the mid week UEFA Cup victory against Schalke 04.

All this marks a remarkable turnaround for the Cork-born player who found himself at the centre of one of football’s most bizarre scandals last season. ‘Granny-gate’ occurred when he concocted the 'deaths' of his grandmothers to escape the Republic of Ireland’s international set up.  

The controversy created a fire storm that impacted on his club form. He dropped out of the starting line-up as the campaign drew to a close, and was nearly sold to Sunderland.

How Mark Hughes must be glad this didn’t happen. Just as the Blues'  fortunes have been transformed by the injection of cash from Abu Dhabi, so Ireland has been a different player this season. Along with Shaun Wright-Phillips and Robinho, he will be expected to tear apart United on Sunday.

City have struggled for consistency though. Their mid-table position attests to this, with glorious days against Arsenal coming alongside dour defeats to Bolton Wanderers.

The Eastlands fans will be desperate for a repeat of last weekend’s win so they can continue their terrific form against the Red Devils.

Two wins last year saw the local bragging rights go to the Blue half of Manchester. With some more help from their very own super hero, this run could be continued on Sunday.

No goals, no glory

These are uncharacteristically lean times for Manchester United. Two goalless draws in a week ended their tremendous record of scoring in the last 36 Premier League games, and stopped them from sealing their place as top dogs in Group E in the Champions League.

Getting back on the score-sheet will be paramount in Sir Alex Ferguson’s mind as he attempts to even the score against Manchester City.

In all the glory of a double-winning campaign in Europe and at home, you can bet a double of a very different kind has been on the mind of the Scottish manager.

A 1-0 defeat at Eastlands plus a faultless City display in the 2-1 win on United’s own turf took some of the gloss off their dominant 2007/08 season.

Ferguson has always been aware of football’s tribal side, happily engrossing himself in United’s rivalries with Liverpool, Manchester City, Leeds United and Arsenal as he came down south to take the Old Trafford reins.

A big boost to his hopes of settling the score with the Blues has been the return to training of Dimitar Berbatov this week. The Bulgarian endeared himself to the United faithful by turning down an even bigger money move to City in the summer, but hasn’t completely won them over on the pitch.

That his absence has coincided with his team mates firing blanks can’t be just by chance. If he can end this run by notching his first away Premier League goal for the champions at Eastlands then he’ll take a big step towards acceptance.

Ferguson will also be aware that a winning show against City could pile the pressure on Chelsea as they prepare to host Arsenal straight after. A victory by a few goals will set an even bigger marker down, and show that United are back in business.

FORM GUIDE

Manchester City:

27th November vs. Schalke 04 (A) won 2-0 (UEFA CUP)

22nd November vs. Arsenal (H) won 3-0 (PREM)

16th November vs. Hull City (A) drew 2-2 (PREM)

9th November vs. Tottenham Hotspur (H) lost 2-1 (PREM)

6th November vs. Twente Enschede (H) won 3-2 (UEFA CUP)

Manchester United:

25th November vs. Villarreal C.F. (A) drew 0-0 (CHAMP LG)

22nd November vs. Aston Villa (A) drew 0-0 (PREM)

15th November vs. Stoke City (H) won 5-0 (PREM)

11th November vs. Queens Park Rangers (H) won 1-0 (CARLING CUP)

8th November vs. Arsenal (A) lost 2-1 (PREM)


TEAM NEWS

Manchester City:

Samba star Robinho (ankle) returns to the City fold after recovering from the injury he picked up against Arsenal. He is joined by Gelson Fernandes (hamstring) and Pablo Zabaleta (thigh). This game comes too early for Michael Johnson (groin) who is still a few weeks away from full fitness. Bulgarian pair Martin Petrov (knee) and Valeri Bojinov (calf) are both out until after the New Year.

Last starting XI (vs. Schalke 04.): Hart, Richards, Kompany, Dunne, Garrido (Michael Ball 46), Wright-Phillips, Hamann, Ireland, Vassell, Mwaruwari (Jo 84), Sturridge.
Subs Not Used: Schmeichel, Evans, Ben-Haim, Berti, Logan.  

Squad: Hart, Schmeichel, Onuoha, Zabaleta, Richards, Dunne, Garrido, Ball, Ben Haim, Fernandes, Hamann, Wright-Phillips, Elano, Ireland, Kompany, Robinho, Vassell, Benjani Mwaruwari, Sturridge, Evans.

Possible starting XI: Hart, Zabaleta, Richards, Dunne, Ben Haim, Kompany, Hamann, Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Robinho, Benjani.

Manchester United:

Dimitar Berbatov (hamstring) has shaken off the injury he picked up on international duty two weeks ago and comes back into the United fold. He is joined by captain Gary Neville (groin). Paul Scholes (knee) was seen on the Carrington training pitch this week but hasn’t been considered for selection. Wes Brown (ankle) and Owen Hargreaves (knee) are still out.

Last starting XI (vs. Villarreal C.F.): Kuszczak, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Ronaldo, Fletcher (Gibson 80), Carrick (Tevez 86), Nani (Park 85), Anderson, Rooney.
Subs Not Used: Foster, Giggs, Vidic, Rafael Da Silva.

Squad: Van der Sar, Foster, Kuszczak, Neville, Rafael, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Ronaldo, Nani, Carrick, Fletcher, Anderson, Giggs, Park, Rooney, Tevez, Berbatov.

Possible starting XI: Van der Sar, O’Shea, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick, Fletcher, Park, Rooney, Berbatov/Tevez.

1-2

i whacking

1-0 to Red Devils. Don't be fooled by the statistics and media.

     

 

Man City v Man Utd

 

 

Robinho looks set to return to the Manchester City side after sitting out the 2-0 Uefa Cup win over Schalke with a slight ankle injury. Gelson Fernandes (hamstring) and Pablo Zabaleta (thigh) are also available.

Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov is in contention after returning to training following a hamstring injury. Defender Gary Neville (groin) and midfielder Paul Scholes (knee) have resumed training, but only Neville looks likely to be in the squad. <!-- E SF -->

Berbatov has missed the last two games and United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has vowed not to rush him back. He said: "Hamstring injuries are never easy to deal with. We must be careful because he has never had one before. "We will have to gauge whether it's wise to use him from the start on Sunday or to have him on the bench."

Bulgarian Berbatov, 27, was injured while on international duty. Meanwhile, Ferguson also confirmed that veteran duo Neville and Scholes are also back in training.

Neville has been struggling with a groin injury, although he might be fit to face City. But Scholes, who had a knee operation after the Champions League trip to Aalborg in September, is more likely to be held back.

 

 

Manchester City : Hart, Zabaleta, Richards, Dunne, Garrido, Ball, Wright-Phillips, Elano, Ireland, Kompany, Robinho, Vassell, Hamann, Benjani Mwaruwari, Sturridge, Fernandes, Ben Haim, Schmeichel, Onuoha, Evans.

Manchester United : Van der Sar, Foster, Kuszczak, Neville, Rafael, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Ronaldo, Nani, Carrick, Fletcher, Anderson, Giggs, Park, Rooney, Tevez, Berbatov.

 

Howard Webb (Yorkshire)

 

Ok, very soon going to start liao... Hope can win lah but if draw also acceptable lah with City currently so strong and playing at home somemore... and United's away form also not that good recently...

haf a feeling man shitty will win manure.. lols..

drop rooney pilis.. put tevez pilis.. put anderson pilis.. and drop oshea.. dunoe wtfbbq fish he doing..

any live streaming linkies? xie xie

Line-ups :

Edwin

Rafael
Rio
Vidic
Evra

Park
Carrick
Fletcher
Ronaldo

Wayne
Berbatov