Apologies for the lateness of this post but I have been hearing all kinds of things all week about who is not going to be fit to play this afternoon and I wanted to leave it as late as possible to see if there was any kind of clarification.

At various stages of the week, I had heard that Jones, Carrick, Nani and then yesterday Rooney were all struggling for fitness following the Arsenal game.

Obviously, Jones looked a major doubt but Nani also hobbled off in the Arsenal game and Rooney appeared unable to even walk at the end after a series of clattering challenges.

Anyway, I am no wiser this morning and I do wonder if Fergie is going to take a bit of a gamble in this game and rest those players who might not be 100% fit so that they might be ready for the league games.

The Premier League is clearly our priority this season and with Stoke and then Chelsea coming hot on the heels of this one, we have two stern tests ahead of us in that competition and I am now of the view that Fergie will put out a team which he believes will push Liverpool here today but if it goes wrong then it won’t be viewed with enormous disappointment.

In any case, our record at Anfield of late hasn’t been great and it did look for long periods in our league game earlier this season that we were largely second-best and whilst we managed to salvage a 1-1 draw on that occasion, Liverpool probably felt that they deserved the win.

Liverpool themselves have been a bit inconsistent of late. They put in two very good performances to overcome Man City over the two legs of the Carling Cup semi but those games sandwiched a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Bolton and a mediocre 0-0 against Stoke.

I think we could win here today, even if all those listed above are out injured but it will require whoever steps in to hit the ground running and perform to their best.

Making any kind of prediction here is difficult but I think the game could see more goals than our league fixture and that is going to form the basis of my tentative bet.

The bet is 1 point Over 2.5 goals @ 2.00 with Bet365.

The Red Devil - A Manchester United and Football Blog

Had this game taken place a couple of weeks ago then I think most United fans would have gone into it with the confidence that we could get some sort of revenge for the 6-1 drubbing but after two defeats and, worst still, two pretty abject displays in our last two games then it really is difficult to think of one good reason to believe that we can win this one.

On the other hand, there are plenty of reasons to believe that City will win.

For a start, they are arguably the best team in England at this moment. The league table backs this up. The way they beat us at OT earlier in the season adds further weight to the argument.

City have turned the Etihad Stadium into the kind of fortress that teams such as ourselves at OT and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge have done in recent years. In fact, in their last twenty home league games, they have dropped just two points (Fulham, last February).

City are the defending FA Cup Champions whilst our own record in this competition in recent years has been pretty underwhelming.

Despite Mancini’s frankly laughable comments that he didn’t know if he had eighteen players available for this one (with the Toure’s going to the African Cup of Nations) he has a formidable starting eleven of fully fit players (although Barry is suspended and Yaya Toure is out so that does mess their normal midfield up rather a lot) whilst we have an injury list which, whilst improving of late, is still ridiculously long and includes at least two players who would no doubt have started in this one (Vidic and Fletcher).

So that’s the case for Manchester City in this one and I think it’s fair to say that an awful lot of boxes are ticked there. The head can only come to the conclusion that City will win this one even if the heart begs to differ.

However, I have been supporting United long enough to know that we can never be written off. Some of our best ever results have come out of the blue (no pun intended). Indeed, there may even be the possibility of some degree of complacency on the City part that we can take advantage of but perhaps that would be grasping at straws.

There is also a possibility that we may view the FA Cup differently this season. In recent seasons, I have had the feeling that Fergie hasn’t treated the competition very seriously – of course he would like to win it and sends out a team he believes is capable of winning the match but it seems to be a case of either win the game or lose the game… but don’t draw the game because a draw means a replay and another fixture to contend with as we attempt to compete for the bigger prizes such as the Premier League and the Champions League.

This season, we don’t have the Champions League to worry about. Yes, we have the Europa League and I don’t know what Sir Alex’s private thoughts are on that tournament but, speaking as a fan, I think I would rather see us lift the FA Cup than the Europa League trophy. It could well be the case that a draw in this fixture so that we can get City back to an OT replay would not be seen as such a bad thing.

What I would like to see in this game more than anything is all the players being played in their “proper” positions. Due to injuries, Fergie has tried with mixed success to put square pegs into round holes in several games recently but I would like to see something along the lines of the following (if Smalling is fit):-

Lindegaard, Rafael, Smalling, Rio, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Jones, Nani, Rooney, Hernandez in the kind of 4-5-1/4-4-2 type formation which has served us well.

Jones in midfield might be slightly iffy but I’m convinced that he is better/safer there than in central defence at the moment – he had a nightmare in there against Newcastle the other night and had some kind of hand in all three of their goals.

If Smalling doesn’t make it back then it could well be that Fergie goes with Anderson in midfield and brings Jones back into the centre of defence and, if that is the case, then I think we could have trouble and if Fergie goes with De Gea ahead of Lindegaard then City will simply bombard us with crosses all afternoon long. Neither De Gea nor Jones seem particularly good at dealing with crosses (and this is where we miss Vidic massively).

Anyway. What’s going to happen here today? I think the answer has to be: “anything could happen”. I doubt very much that we’ll be seeing another 6-1 scoreline or anything even close and some of the bookies actually seem to think that we’ll have a fairly low-scoring game. I suppose it’s possible that it will be cagey but I’ve got a feeling that there’ll be more fireworks here today.

May the… erm… “best” team win!

The bet is going to be a tentative 2 points on OVER 2.5 goals @ 1.92 with Bet365.

The Red Devil - A Manchester United and Football Blog

I’m already getting tired and a little bit conscious of the number of times I have used the words “massive game” of late but there’s no doubting that this is indeed another massive game for both teams.

For City, this is their first trip to Wembley since 1981 when they were beaten in the final of this competition and for us it perhaps represents the biggest obstacle in our way to another Double this season because make no mistake about it, whatever happens in the Bolton/Stoke semi, the winner of this game will be installed as pretty strong odds-on favourites to win the Cup.

As far as the teams go, both managers have almost a fully-fit squad to choose from with one obvious omission each. City will have to do without Carlos Tevez which is a devastating blow for them because not only is he their captain and leading goalscorer but he’s also the only one in the City camp who actually knows his way to Wembley.

For us, Rooney is the big miss as he completes his two-match suspension for swearing the other week.

However, I do believe that we will miss Rooney less than City will Tevez. Tevez is by far and away City’s leading scorer and has scored more goals than Ballotelli and Dzeko combined – the two players who look likely to be vying for Tevez’ place in this game.

Hernandez and Berbatov will be chomping at the bit to start in this one and both have been in great scoring form this season.

I’ve been giving this one a great deal of though over the last couple of days and every time I come up with an argument that says City will win, I come up with an even stronger argument that says we will win.

I do believe that we are now playing as well as we have done all season and actually seem to be getting better as the season draws to a close and the silverware becomes that little bit more tangible. City are still playing in fits and bursts – especially when asked to play away from the Eastlands.

We’ve been to Wembley countless times (we’ve already been once this season in the Community Shield) and have experienced far more semis and finals than City. Of the two sides, United should feel far more at home and at ease with the pressure of the situation.

Fergie’s record in domestic semi-finals is almost impeccable and I believe that he has led us to victory in nine of the ten he has contested. Mancini is still finding his feet in English football.

There is still something very unconvincing about the mentality of City’s players and their ability to cope with the expectation that is now heaped upon them. It was similar last season as we knocked them out of the Carling Cup semi-final after they had put themselves in a great position to get to their first final in the best part of thirty years. Then, of course, when they came up against Spurs to pretty much decide the fourth Champions League place, they blew that.

This season they blew the Europa League despite being fairly strong favourites before they went out and a 3-0 defeat to Liverpool in their last game has allowed Spurs back into the fourth place race again.

Of course, one of these days, they are going to overcome their stage fright and leave me with egg on my face but until they make that breakthrough, I’m happy to oppose them every step of the way.

On top of all of this, I just think we’re a better team than City and we’re more than capable of winning this without having to rely on City “losing it” and given the price on offer, I think a straight bet on the United win is enough here.

The bet is 3 points on United to win @ 2.15 with Victor Chandler.

The Red Devil - A Manchester United and Football Blog

It hasn’t been a great couple of weeks for either of these two sides as we’ve lost our last two league fixtures whilst Arsenal have also dropped valuable league points and were utterly destroyed by Barcelona in the Champions League.

This fixture represents an opportunity for one of the sides to put a much needed smile on the faces of their fans.

On top of the results, both teams are also now suffering from key players out injured.

It is expected that both managers will put out their strongest possible sides for this one although in our case, quite what that means in terms of the wide midfielders is anyone’s guess at the moment.

I expect this to be a good game though. I don’t see any point in either side being cagey for this one. It’s a chance to let out some frustrations and have a good, old-fashioned ding dong at one another. The winner gets a place in the FA Cup semi-final, the loser can put more focus into winning the Premier League and, in the case of Arsenal, that will then become their only focus.

With this in mind, and the fact that the game is being played at Old Trafford – where we remain unbeaten all season – I think the price is right to go for a straight United win here. Neither team will want a draw and a replay from this one.

The bet is going to be 3 points Manchester United to Win @ 2.00 with Victor Chandler.

The Red Devil - A Manchester United and Football Blog

When non-league Crawley Town step onto the pitch against us this evening, it will only be the sixth time in FA Cup history that a non-league side has reached the FA Cup fifth round and that is as far as any have got – can Crawley become the first to progress further?

Well, away to the side at the top of the Premier League with a formidable home record, the off-the-cuff answer would normally be a resounding “no chance” but I have one or two concerns going into this match.

It seems almost certain that Fergie is going to make some drastic changes to the team and whenever he has done this in the recent past, it has backfired to a certain extent. The eleven players that Fergie puts out will undoubtedly be a better eleven than Crawley and man for man, we should be superior all over the park but will they be able to play as a team or will it be another disjointed performance from a bunch of players who look very much like they’ve never played together?

One thing is for certain, Crawley Town will know what they are doing, they are a well drilled side and even Fergie himself has said that he believes them to be the best side to come out of non-league football for quite some time. Provided that the OT experience doesn’t prove too overwhelming then they could even receive a boost from playing against us which will give them an extra 10% to their performance.

The bookies see nothing but a drubbing for Crawley here but I am wondering where the goals are going to come from. Hernandez could well make an appearance in this one and provided he gets the service he thrives on then he could well score a couple and there’s always a chance that a goal or two could come from midfield or a set-piece but I have a feeling that the most we will score in this game is three – whether the defence that Fergie puts out is organised enough to keep a clean sheet remains to be seen.

With so many unknowns about the game, it is one I would rather leave from a betting perspective but I think a small bet on the Under market could be interesting, especially as the bookie’s have moved the bar slightly for this one.

The bet is 2 points Under 3.5 goals @ 1.9 with Canbet.

The Red Devil - A Manchester United and Football Blog

Ever since coming close to winning the Premier League a couple of seasons ago, it has basically been all downhill for Liverpool as they have seemingly stumbled from disaster to disaster ever since.

The latest incident came just a couple of days ago as Manager Roy Hodgson was finally given the axe to be replaced by Kenny Dalglish who will lead the team out against us this afternoon.

Quite what effect this will have on Liverpool’s performance obviously remains to be seen but it does add an extra bit of spice to what is already a juicy FA Cup fixture.

For our own part, we have generally been very consistent so far this season with our only blip coming in the other cup competition when we were completely blown away by West Ham by a scoreline that came from nowhere.

Fergie tinkered a little too much with the team that night though and after last season’s 3rd Round exit to Leeds, it does seem that he wants us to have a much better run in this competition this season and I expect him to field a very strong side here today.

For a clue as to what might happen here today, I think we need to look at our 3-2 victory over Liverpool in the league earlier this season – the scoreline makes the game look close but we really should have won that game far more comfortably than that on the day but winning comfortably seems to be something we have been having a problem with all season and I expect today’s match to be more of the same from us – doing enough to win but no more than that.

What neither team will want is a draw here and so I expect an open game which should contain at least a couple of goals but I’m not going to try to second guess a scoreline here and instead go into the corner market because I think it’s going to be a low corner count as games between these two sides usually are.

The bet is going to be 3 points Under 10.5 corners @ 1.83 with Stan James.

The Red Devil - A Manchester United and Football Blog

Sunday, 3rd January 2010 – KO: 13:00

In the last twenty-two years, only two teams outside the recognised “Big Four” have won the top English Division (now known as the Premier League). One was Blackburn in 1995, the other was Leeds in 1992.

That 1991-92 season was arguably the real starting point for Alex Ferguson and his reign as Manchester United.

We came second that season, just four points behind Leeds but Leeds had within their ranks a certain Eric Cantona.

In a bizarre twist, Leeds sold Cantona to us for a paltry £1 Million at the end of their Championship winning season and with Cantona and the “kids” coming through, we won four of the next five League titles (only missing out by the slenderest of margins to Blackburn in 1994-95).

Since that time, we have continued to pick up League titles, FA Cups, European Cups and League Cups. Leeds have only really gone downhill and those heady days of 1992 seem like every one of those eighteen long years ago.

In 2004, they were relegated to the Championship and then in 2007, they were relegated again to the First Division where they remain to this day.

Indeed, this is the first time that we have met Leeds since they were relegated from the Premier League in 2004.

Anyway, enough of the history lesson. This is 2010 and this is the FA Cup. Manchester United are ticking along as well as ever and Leeds are flying high at the top of the First Division and even have a game in hand over second placed Charlton.

If Leeds are on the brink of a revival, a win against one of their fiercest rivals in the FA Cup won’t do their cause any harm whatsoever.

It’s a bit tricky to determine exactly what kind of team Fergie will put out for this one. Our next game is the first leg of our Carling Cup tie against Manchester City and he still maintains that he will go with the “kids” for that one so there doesn’t seem to be much point in resting any of the “senior” players for this one but under normal circumstances, a game against a team two divisions lower than us would normally signal a few personnel changes.

Our defensive problems have eased somewhat over the last couple of weeks but it still appears as though Fergie has few options beyond Rafael, Vidic, Brown and Evra (De Laet and Fabio are the only two that spring to mind).

It is midfield that is likely to see a few changes and I would expect Anderson, Scholes, Giggs and one other to be given the nod here. If Nani does not feature in this game or the City game then I think we can safely assume that his days as a Manchester United player are just about over.

Upfront, Rooney and Berby are the preferred partnership but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Owen take his place alongside Berby.

As for Leeds, well, they seem to have a very balanced team. They are scoring plenty of goals and conceding few so far this season and their goal difference stands at +32.

I am sure they will come out feeling confident of an upset here and the first goal could be crucial. If we get the first goal, it could knock a bit of the stuffing out of Leeds, if they get the first goal, their confidence will soar, their fans will drive them on and it could be a tough day for us.

One thing is for certain, this game is not going to be the one-way traffic that we had against Wigan in our last game and Leeds are going to get stuck in from the off.

However, this is Old Trafford and Fergie has assembled a squad of such quality that even a tinkered team should have more than enough to cope with most visitors and I fully expect us to win this game.

The bookies give Leeds no chance and think we will win this by a clear two goal margin. I wouldn’t be surprised to see that happen but I do think it depends on the kind of team Fergie puts out. If it is anything like full strength (i.e. the team that destroyed Wigan) then this could be a 3-0 win. If there are a number of changes then this could be one of our stuttering performances with plenty of possession but little end product.

I am going to go with the Over bet here on the assumption that this will either be another goal fest for United or a close game where both teams will score at least once.

The bet is going to be 3 points Over 2.5 Goals @ 1.66 with Stan James

Fergie made plenty of changes and even sprung a couple of surprises with Neville and Evans making a re-appearance in defence alongside Brown and Fabio.

The midfield of Obertan, Anderson, Gibson and Welbeck was also quite surprising.

The strike partnership of Rooney and Berbatov was, I suppose, expected.

We started off well enough, pinging the passes around, a few runs here and there but, as we have seen on a few occasions so far this season when Fergie has over-tinkered, very little end product.

That said, there didn’t seem to be a great deal to get too alarmed about when Leeds took the lead after 19 minutes. We had shown enough to suggest that we were going to get back into the game but the minutes ticked by… and by… and by… and in the end, it felt just like the Besiktas game all over again. The difference between this game and the Besiktas game, however, is that this game really, really mattered.

It seems harsh to say so because if one player deserved a breather it was Evra but I think we missed him more than anybody out here today. Fabio did his best in the left back position but he’s a naturally right sided player and time and again he had to get the ball onto his right foot which often meant the difference between a great first time left footed ball and… well… nothing really.

Valencia came on after around sixty minutes and had an immediate impact and may have even been our best player despite only playing for thirty minutes.

The disappointment (again) was Berbatov. He was playing with a smile on his face against Wigan and it showed in his game. Today, he looked stroppy and lethargic and it must annoy players like Welbeck who was taken off for Valencia despite having a decent game and looking as likely as anyone to make the breakthrough to then sit back and watch Berbatov do next to nothing.

This was precisely the kind of situation that Berby was brought in for. To make that difference when things aren’t happening but his head drops more than anybody’s when things aren’t going for us.

Cantona would have scored (there, I’ve said it!)

Anyway, Leeds deserved their victory here today, they gave it everything and started to look a bit tired in the last twenty minutes but they hung on for the win.

For me, Fergie made two or three too many changes to the team and it backfired again.

The good news is the return of Evans (not so much Neville who looked as rusty as an old bike). The bad news is that Vidic was due to start this one but was pulled out at the last minute because of a slight problem (there is an air of mystery surrounding this… watch this space).

The Red Devil - A Manchester United and Football Blog