Sunderland v Manchester united preview

Manchester United have a 15 point lead at the top of the table. More or less the trophy is coming back home this season. However, it’s important that we shouldn’t lose momentum.

Sunderland is up next. While a win should be on the agenda, I expect Sir Alex to rest a few players considering the upcoming FA cup fixture against Chelsea.

After being controversially knocked out of the champions league, United will look to win to FA cup to soothe the hurt. This is one trophy they haven’t won for some time, and Sir Alex himself is desperate to win it this season.

Considering a few players are rested I still expect us to get a result. Most probably one of Rooney or Van Persie will be rested. A few other key players may be rested as well. I expect a closely fought encounter with the scores level

Prediction: Sunderland 1-1 Man Utd

Man Utd V Everton Preview

United officially start their Premier league campaign on Monday night against Everton. After last seasons dramatic final day title loss to City, United must want to get a good start this time around.

United performed well in most of their pre-season games. Their only loss came against Barcelona in a curtailed penalty shootout. Most of the players looked in good touch. The defense looked weak however, and we leaked in a lot of silly goals throughout pre-season.

The good news is that most of the Squad is fit and available for the first match of the season. Darren Fletcher still remains absent with a stomach condition. He did play in the midweek testimonial but looked really thin. He will have to do a lot of fitness and strength training before he can step back up on the pitch.

With the signing of Robin Van Persie almost done, United arguably have one of the most potent strike forces in the premier league. What needs to be seen is how well he partners with Rooney up front.

Everton are always a tough opponent, especially at home. We need to be careful not to attack too much as we could get hit on the break. We need to keep a patient build up and try to break them down with our wing play. Steven Pienaar is big threat down the left wing and needs to be kept in check. They way he ran the show at Old Trafford last season really amazes me. Whoever of Rafael or Valencia starts at right back will have to do a good job.

Anderson looks set to start in midfield along with Cleverly or Carrick.  Nani and Young should start on the wings with Welbeck and Rooney in attack. Kagawa looked really bright in the pre-season matches however I think he will start on the bench and come on later. United now have good strength and depth in their squad. Many fans are calling for a new signing in center midfield. I think Sir Alex is content with the midfield and might give a few chances to the youngsters throughout the course of the season

Really hoping to see a good game and a good result to start of the premier league season with.

Probable starting line up:

De Gea, Valencia, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Nani, Carrick, Anderson, Young, Welbeck, Rooney

My Prediction:

United to just nick this one with their superior attacking line up. Everton 1-2 Man Utd

Manchester United V Hannover 96 highlights

Manchester United bounced back from the pre-season setback against Barcelona, in dramatic fashion by beating Hannover FC 4-3. It was a thrilling encounter with many ups and downs.

Hannover took that lead thanks to some lax goalkeeping by Anders Lindegaard. United hit back through Javier “chicharito” Hernandez to level things. However, 2 quick goals by Hanover seemed to have turned the tide in their favour.

United were not done yet. Rooney scored a sublime free-kick and then converted a penalty to bring us back in the game. And in typical united fashion the game was wrapped 4 minutes from time when Rooney teed up Kagawa for a neat finish.

Keeping my fingers crossed so that our attacking form carries on to the start of the season. We haven’t yet lost in open play. Lets hope our defense gets their act together and we in for a superb season.

Manchester United pre-season results

The season officially starts next month. But, United have already kicked off their preseason tour in South Africa. After a nervy 1-0 victory against Amazulu FC on Wednesday the lads drew with Ajax Cape town 1-1 on Saturday.

Shinji Kagawa got some good game time and I was quite pleased with his performance. Showed a few good passes and his off the ball movement was very good. Bebe scored the late equalizer and it was a welcome goal for him after almost 8 months out with injury

United now travel to China to face Shanghai Shenhua. I’m really hoping to see United turn it on against Shanghai. Nicolas Anelka might be playing so it would be good to get one over an old rival.

Just can’t wait for the new season to start.  I would be over the moon if we manage to sign Robin Van Persie and Lucas Moura. Here’s wishing the lads a good preseason tour in China

United till I Die!

Manchester United Fixtures 2012-13

Fixtures List released

Sat Aug 18 Everton A
Sat Aug 25 Fulham H

Sat Sep 1 Southampton A
Sat Sep 15 Wigan Athletic H
Sat Sep 22 Liverpool A
Wed Sep 26 Capital One Cup 3
Sat Sep 29 Tottenham Hotspur H

Sat Oct 6 Newcastle United A
Sat Oct 20 Stoke City H
Sat Oct 27 Chelsea A
Wed Oct 31 Capital One Cup 4

Sat Nov 3 Arsenal H
Sat Nov 10 Aston Villa A
Sat Nov 17 Norwich City A
Sat Nov 24 Queens Park Rangers H
Tue Nov 27 West Ham United H

Sat Dec 1 Reading A
Sat Dec 8 Manchester City A
Wed Dec 12 Capital One Cup 5
Sat Dec 15 Sunderland H
Sat Dec 22 Swansea City A
Wed Dec 26 Newcastle United H
Sat Dec 29 West Brom H

Tue Jan 1 Wigan Athletic A
Sat Jan 5 FA Cup 3
Wed Jan 9 Capital One Cup Semi (1)
Sat Jan 12 Liverpool H
Sat Jan 19 Tottenham Hotspur A
Wed Jan 23 Capital One Cup Semi (2)
Sat Jan 26 FA Cup 4
Tue Jan 29 Southampton H

Sat Feb 2 Fulham A
Sat Feb 9 Everton H
Sat Feb 16 FA Cup 5
Sat Feb 23 Queens Park Rangers A
Sun Feb 24 Capital One Cup Final

Sat Mar 2 Norwich City H 

Sat Mar 9 West Ham A (FA Cup 6)
Sat Mar 16 Reading H
Sat Mar 30 Sunderland A

Sat Apr 6 Manchester City H
Sat Apr 13 Stoke City A (FA Cup Semi)
Sat Apr 20 Aston Villa H
Sat Apr 27 Arsenal A

Sat May 4 Chelsea H
Sat May 11 FA Cup Final
Sun May 12 Swansea City H
Sun May 19 West Bromwich Albion A

Latest Man Utd transfer Rumours

With Eden Hazard moving to Chelsea, United have missed out a potential superstar (Though he already acts like one!). Many people think he to will go the Torres way and fizzle out. However, I think otherwise. He wasn’t exceptional against England the other night but his ‘off the ball’ movement was very good for someone so young.

Coming back to us, I’m sure the Kagawa deal is more or less done. What an amazing signing he would be at around £12m. Now that’s true value for money. We are also looking to sign Nick Powell from Crewe however, Chelsea are trying to hijack that bid. I would really hate it if he does go to Chelsea. This guy is one for the future

There also seems to be genuine interest for Moussa Dembele. I’m really not sure about this one. The guy has skill for sure, but he holds on to the ball for far too long.  He might not suit out counter-attacking play. However, if the gaffer thinks he’s good, then he’s good.

Finally, I hope we do sign one of Javi Martinez or Kevin Strootman. They would give us solidity down the middle. Something we have been lacking for quite some time. According to newspaper sources, United did make inquiries regarding availability of the above players. However, anything concrete is yet to develop.

Hazard to Manchester United

Rumours have gone into Overdrive with the end of the league season. With respect to United there is a strong rumours going around about Shinji Kagawa and Eden Hazard.

Apparently, Kagawa met up with Sir Alex at Old Trafford before flying to Japan. According to me it seems a done deal. We might be waiting to get the paperwork done before before announcing anything

Eden Hazard to Manchester United was announced on iTV. But this one I’m not so sure about. With Hazard openly stating that he will be playing in Manchester next season it gives a 50-50 chance. However, with City also interested and considering their spending power they are more that likely to trump anything we offer for Hazard.

Last I heard he had offers from both the clubs and it is up to him to decide where he wants to play. Just so you know Hazard’s Wikipedia page has been protected till next week. So I’m hoping his capture will be announced by the end of next week. Hopefully, it is us. This guys is a beast very much in the Roanldo mode.

We are looking at a left back as well however, not sure who that would be. My guess would be Emilio Izaguirre of Celtic. Lets see how things pan out. Hoping for a good transfer window so we can start next season with a strong squad