QPR arrived in the Premier League this season with a reputation for being a pretty formidable home side but this appeared to have been blown away when they were trounced by, of all teams, Bolton, 4-0 on the opening day of the season. However, they have proven themselves to be a tough nut to crack at Loftus Road since then and, whilst they have only won once at home this season, the only other defeat was against Manchester City last month when City overcame them 3-2 and, whilst I can’t remember the details, I seem to remember that QPR were somewhat unlucky to come out of that game with nothing.

Anyway, I think it is fair to say that we’ll do well to come out of this one with three points but it seems to be the case that that is exactly what we must do if we are to maintain the pressure on City at the top of the table. Indeed, a win here and we will hit top spot although I do expect our reign to be brief as I think city will get at least the point they require against Arsenal when they kick off a couple of hours after this match finishes.

I’m just hoping that Fergie goes with a line-up similar to that which he played against Wolves in our last match and, given the injury situation, it is difficult to see how he can deviate too much. Certainly, I’d be happy to see the Carrick/Jones central midfield given another go because I really felt that that was instrumental last time out.

It’s going to be Rooney and A.N.Other upfront and Welbeck seems to be as good as any but Diouf didn’t do his chances any harm with a midweek brace for the reserves and perhaps this is the kind of game where he might be given the chance to press his claims.

This is one of those games that is difficult to call. We will be expected to win but probably not easily. QPR are tough to beat at home but they probably draw too many and actually have one of the worst home records in the league in terms of points collected but they tend not to get beaten by many and that defeat against Bolton one the opening day stands out like a sore thumb amongst their results in recent seasons.

As for ourselves, we have not been scoring many of late and our 4-1 against Wolves last week sticks out like a sore thumb amongst a string of low-scoring performances but that was at Old Trafford against a team that is generally struggling even more than QPR after a week where the players owed themselves and the fans something to feel good about.

I’m generally torn about this one. On the one hand, there’s plenty of value to be had with going with the big United win but there’s value to be had with QPR keeping us to a draw. I don’t know whether or not last week’s 4-1 is the start of a scoring spree for Rooney and Nani or whether it was a flash in the pan.

I’d like to think that we can at least keep QPR out and keep another clean sheet and score at least one at the other end and this is the basis of my bet this week.

The bet is 2 points Under 2.5 Goals @ 2.05 with Victor Chandler.

With the midweek exit from the Champions League still undoubtedly creating something of a depression around the place, the players will have to lift themselves this afternoon as we attempt to stay in touch with Manchester City at the top of the table and keep our Premier League title challenge on track.

Looking at our injury list going into this one makes for quite alarming reading as it seems that Vidic, Rafael, Fabio, Anderson, Cleverley, Berbatov, Owen and Chicharito are all injured  - throw in a couple of midfielders and a goalie and that would be a pretty decent Premier League outfit right there.

Looking at Wolves’ injury list… no injuries – and there have been times when I have felt that Mick McCarthy gets no luck.

Anyway, games between us and Wolves have tended to be pretty close affairs and they did beat us last season (although that was at their place) and I tend to think that this afternoon will be the same story. I’m expecting us to go on a goal-spree at any time but until it happens, it is probably best to assume that we will continue to struggle to score goals and two is as many as we can hope to see from us this afternoon.

Which then means that it rests on the defence to make those goals enough to win the game. We’ve given some sloppy goals away this season but, prior to the Basle game, we had started to look a bit meaner in defence, however, we now obviously have to contend with life without Vidic for the rest of the season which tends to suggest that we might see a few more softer goals scored against us from here on in.

I really have no idea how things will go today and at this point, I’d just be extremely happy to see us come through with three more points on the table and no more injuries.

I have a feeling that both teams will score today though and that will form the basis of the bet.

The bet is 2 points Both Teams to Score @ 2.2 with Betfred.

Well, it doesn’t seem like five minutes since I was sitting here writing about our masterplan for winning this group with a couple of games to spare which would render this one all but irrelevant but we’ve hit a couple of bogeys in this competitions since then and suddenly a result from this, our last game of the group stage, becomes crucial.

A draw tonight will see us through. A win tonight could see us win the group – but not if Benfica win against Otelul at home. Basically, it is looking very much like we’ll be playing to finish second in the group which really isn’t great for a team that is as experienced as us in Europe after being given what looked like a “dream group” at the start.

I saw the interview a couple of weeks ago where Fergie stormed out after a journalist suggested that the English clubs had “struggled” in Europe this season and I could see both points of view. The English teams have struggled by our standards so far this season but I could also see why Fergie was disgusted by the comment because there is an insinuation that English clubs only have to turn up and take their three points without the 90 minutes battle on the pitch in between.

Of course there is a “struggle” in that respect and if people expect to go into a Champions League game (the cream of Europe, let it not be forgotten) and have an “easy” game then they are underestimating and being completely disrespectful of the achievements of the teams that have qualified for the competition. No one gets into the Champions League by being a useless side and none are pushovers.

I made the point in a recent post that perhaps some of the players couldn’t get their juices flowing for these “lowly” group games anymore but my view has changed somewhat of late and I do wonder if it is the fans who don’t get going of late. These are massive, massive footballing occasions. Perhaps not Champions League semi-finals but there are plenty of teams that dream of getting into the Champions League whilst us Man Utd fans perhaps take it all for granted these days.

We turn up, we qualify and then we play against the glamour clubs in the latter stages – that’s the way it has been for several years now but I think we take it for granted that the players don’t actually need our support to do so anymore.

Of course, this is an away tie and Basel’s crowd will be outnumbering our own by a considerable amount anyway – we had our chance at OT and we blew it. We now do have to hope that the players give their all where perhaps we have not but should the worst happen, I hope that fans will not totally exonerate themselves from blame.

Ok. Rant over.

In this game, we have a bit of a striker dilemma which I actually believe will help us. Chicharito is injured, Berba is injured, Owen is injured. That leaves Rooney and Welbeck and I hope that Fergie just goes with Wayne right in front of goal – where he should be all the time as far as I am concerned.

Forget Rooney the midfielder, Rooney in behind, Rooney out on the wings, Rooney starting from defence – just stick him up front – right in that 20 yard square area directly in front of goal – that is how he had his record-breaking scoring run a couple of seasons ago and is the way to go as far as I am concerned.

Played there, Rooney will score the goals required – it is then up to what has become once again a pretty miserly defence to keep Basel out at the other end.

So, I’m not going to go overboard on our scoring this evening but I’m going to rely on us keeping Basel out and doing what need to be done at the other end.

I think this bet will win.

The bet is UNDER 2.5 goals @ 2.00 with Victor Chandler.

For all the good points of this season so far (and I don’t know if this is just me or…) there appear to have been an almost equal amount of low points that have largely overshadowed those good points.

The midweek debacle against Crystal Palace was another of these to add to the 6-1 thrashing by City and the generally lacklustre nature of our Champions League campaign so far this season.

Basically, I think us United fans need something to cheer us up in this game this evening. Some goals would be nice because our scoring has almost completely dried up ever since Fergie was critical of the team for being “too cavalier”.

Personally, I think I’d like a bit of cavalier back right now.

Anyway, onto this game. Villa Park has been a happy hunting ground for us for quite some time now – I can’t actually remember the last time we lost there but our last three visits have all been drawn after a long succession of victories.

Villa themselves are having an indifferent season so far. Few defeats but probably too many drawn games has been the story of their campaign so far. Apart from Newcastle (who they drew with) they haven’t really played any of the top teams at home so far this season but have still only managed three wins from six games there and two of those were against strugglers such as Wigan and Blackburn.

Strangely, it could be argued that our away form has actually been slightly more impressive than our home form so far this season (I’m talking across all competitions here, not just the league) and we remain unbeaten on our travels so far.

So, what will happen here this evening? Well, I think there’ll be a reaction from the players in this one. We have been creating a lot of chances but not putting them away and I do feel that someone is going to be on the receiving end of a big scoreline one game soon – perhaps not this one but I can certainly see us scoring two this evening.

I’m going for goals this evening and the bet is going to be 2 points OVER 2.5 goals @ 2.05 with Bet365.

Without wanting to sound disrespectful to Crystal Palace (and with thoughts of what Leeds did to us here in the FA Cup a couple of years ago still fresh in the memory) the Carling Cup draw appears to have been kind to us once again for this, our quarter final match.

Not that I would have been too bothered had we drawn City, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool in this round from a progress point of view but it might have meant that Fergie wouldn’t be quite so bold with some of the selections he will undoubtedly make this evening and that would have been a shame for the lads concerned.

I’m talking, of course, about players like Paul Pogba, Ravel Morrison and (possibly) Zeki Fryers who have been given their first team chances away from home so far in the competition but tonight might be expected to make their Old Trafford debuts and from the start, rather than from the bench.

Of course, none of us really knows what Fergie has in mind for the game this evening and trying to guess his team selection for any match these days is a little like trying to guess Saturday’s Lottery numbers, only you don’t get seven million quid for getting it right.

What we do know, however, is that he will be playing a team which he believes will be good enough to win the match.

Crystal Palace are not the force they once were and came quite close to being relegated from the Championship last season and this season is not shaping up much better for them as they sit in mid-division and without a win in their last six games but, somewhat bizarrely, they have beaten two of the better teams in the Championship (including leaders Southampton) to get to this stage of this competition.

However, I simply have to believe that we will have too much for them at Old Trafford this evening. The team Fergie puts out will have a smattering of “kids” but there will also be a lot of experience and quality in there. Berbatov was used in our last Carling Cup game and it seemed to rejuvenate him. Players such as Park and Valencia could also be included.

We have won both of our previous Carling Cup games 3-0 so far and it would seem unlikely that we’ll repeat that scoreline again but Crystal Palace are struggling for goals at the moment (the same could be said about us, I suppose) and have scored just two in their last seven league games.

I suspect Lindegaard will be given his chance in goal and, given competition for places, whoever Fergie chooses in defence will be giving everything to ensure that a clean sheet is kept so this won’t help Palace in their quest to get on the scoresheet so I’ll be very surprised if they score tonight.

The bookies are pretty convinced that we’ll win this one comfortably and that it will be a high scoring game, though. We certainly could win this 2-0 or 3-0 (or even beyond that) but I’d really like to see who will be playing upfront before going overboard on that kind of bet.

For this one, I am going to have a tentative bet on the corners market. I can see a lot of the play being in Palace’s half and if this doesn’t result in goals for us then it could result in plenty of corners.

The bet is 2 points Manchester United -4 on the Corner Handicap @ 2.00 with Paddy Power.

With all due respect to Newcastle, I bet few people expected this fixture to be a sort of “top of the table clash” at this start of the season but Newcastle have been going great guns so far and, like us, have only suffered defeat at the hands of Manchester City but it has to be said that they made a better fist of their match against City than we did.

However, I did have a feeling that they were becoming a bit stretched when they played Everton just before the international break and that lack of strength in depth will probably result in their downfall and as we enter the busy month of December, they could well get found out and start to settle to something like their “normal” position in the table.

But for now, they’re full of belief and, provided last weekend’s defeat hasn’t adversely affected them too much, then they’ll come to Old Trafford with the feeling that they can finally get something from us there (they haven’t beat us at Old Trafford for the best part of forty years).

The biggest problem with this one is that we all know pretty much what to expect from Newcastle but the same cannot be said of Manchester United right now and whereas last season it was our away form which was iffy whilst our home form was impeccable, this season, it has almost tended towards the reverse and the midweek draw against Benfica was another disappointing day at the office.

That’s probably an exaggeration but I think it’s fair to say that we haven’t looked as good at home as we did last season save for perhaps that game against Arsenal right near the start of the campaign.

The main problem for me this season is that the team has had to change too much from game to game and this has made us extremely difficult to predict – I am not even sure what our “best eleven” is any more and I’m not even sure if Fergie himself knows.

What we do know now is that Anderson is set for another long absence due to injury and is not likely to feature for another three months or so. There seems to be a possibility that we won’t be seeing Tom Cleverley again in 2011 which is another blow.

Whether this in turn means that we will see players like Young and Rooney employed in central midfield again remains to be seen but there does seem to be a feeling that Fergie is happier with the more standard Carrick/Fletcher partnership now that both have recovered from their own problems.

The defence has also changed just as much as our midfield so far this season and I still don’t really know what our best back four is.

What is beyond doubt though is that both of these departments will have to perform today because Newcastle aren’t where they are by luck – they are a hard-working side, highly organised and are more than capable of scoring goals.

I’d obviously like to believe that we will win here this afternoon but I think that we might have to score a couple if we are to do so because I do expect Newcastle to score and that belief is going to form the basis of my bet because I think the price represents decent value.

The bet is 2 points Both Teams to Score (Yes) @ 2.00 with Bet365.

With this being the penultimate match in our Champions League group stage and being between the top two teams, separated by just a single goal in the goal difference column, it is probably fair to say that it is the group decider.

Basel will still have something to say about the final placings but the winner from this one will certainly qualify from the group and will fancy their chances of finishing in top place.

Our performances in the Champions League so far this season have generally left a lot to be desired. We have won the last two against Otelul Galati but neither performance was convincing and 2-0 in each game probably flattered us, to be quite honest. I’ve said several times that had Galati had a decent striker in their side then we could have been found out in both games.

However, whilst Fergie and the players have obviously sorted things out at the back and we are starting to look a lot less vulnerable, it has come at the expense of the free-flowing, high-octane, “cavalier” style that saw us score shedloads of goals at the start of the season.

With so much at stake going into this match, I have to believe that we will be seeing more of the “safe” football from our players tonight.

Benfica proved to be quite a handful when we played them at their place in the opening fixture of this group and looked particularly strong in defence.

What all this points to, to me, is a game where neither side will be particularly adventurous, will try to keep things tight at the back and grab the one goal that could prove to be the winner.

The bet will be 2 points Under 2.5 goals @ 1.85 with Victor Chandler.

Like most other United fans, I was looking forward to the return of Ashley Young and Tom Cleverley for this one but the news that Cleverley will be out until Christmas is a major blow but Young should return following the toe injury that has kept him out of action for a few weeks.

I’m not going to over-analyse this one. Despite Swansea’s record at home this season (they are currently unbeaten) and despite how well they performed at Anfield the other week, we really should be winning this game.

By the time we kick off, the result of the Manchester City/Newcastle game will be known which might put some added pressure on us to win but I do believe that we’ll come through well this evening but I’m going to go for the straight win because even though the price is nothing to write home about, I do think that it represents value.

The bet is 5 points United to Win @ 1.57 with Bet365.

Firstly, apologies for completely missing the Everton match out. As some of you may have noticed, the website was completely down for much of Saturday due to a problem at my hosting company’s end and so I simply couldn’t get my preview online.

As it happens, I’m not sure that I would have won the bet because I was convinced beforehand that we would need to score more than one goal to win the game as I was quite certain that Everton would score. However, we kept a clean sheet which was great to see – even if it was just by the thickness of a goal-post.

Anyway, this post is about Otelul Galati who come to Old Trafford this evening for our fourth Champions League Group Stage match.

We finally got a close look at Galati in our last match when we played them over in Romania a couple of weeks ago and they were a decent side – well organised and capable enough but they just lacked quality and composure in the final third. Our 2-0 scoreline made it look like a comfortable evening’s work but it was anything but comfortable in truth and it was only when Rooney put away his second penalty right at the death that we were able to consider it won.

However, they come to Old Trafford this evening with their Champions League campaign hanging by the thinnest of threads and it will be interesting to see how they respond to that set of circumstances. On the one hand, it might inspire them to just go for it or they might just crumble under the pressure. Their strikers looked nervous enough when we played them in Romania, quite how they will perform tonight is anyone’s guess and could go either way when the adrenaline kicks in.

Domestically, they have got their act together a bit since we played them and they have won their last three games although they have been close with Galati scoring just five goals in those three games and winning each by just one goal. Interestingly – and perhaps tellingly – all five of their goals were scored by midfielders and defenders (Defender Sarghi and Midfielder Paraschiv grabbing two each).

As for us… well, obviously, we’ve had mixed fortunes since we last played Galati but after conceding six against City, we have managed to keep two clean sheets in our last two games and we have generally looked a bit stronger defensively for a little while now – that City results sticks out as a complete aberration.

There are a few stories of injury problems doing the rounds at the moment. Giggs remains injured but he is now definitely joined by Smalling who has broken his foot and apparently Young (some sort of toe injury?) and the seemingly luckless Tom Cleverly who has picked up another ankle injury. Vidic misses out through suspension.

However, Fergie still has plenty of other options at his disposal and with this being our first game at OT since the City debacle, I’m sure he will want the players to go out and give the home fans a proper show and let anybody else watching that Old Trafford remains a formidable place to visit and one or two dodgy results haven’t changed that.

He will undoubtedly remind them of our last game at OT when we played Basel and almost got the shock of our lives when we became extremely complacent at 2-0 up and almost ended up losing the match 3-2 and will surely let the players know that any repeat of that will see the hairdryer make a comeback.

So, I can see a pumped up United out there tonight and I really wouldn’t want to be a Galati player right now. There will be goals from United in this game, that’s for certain. A goal from Galati would be something of a surprise but I suppose it cannot be totally ruled out.

The bookies believe this will be something of a massacre too it seems and we’re as low as 1.08 with some of them to win the match and as low as 1.35 to win by two clear goals. In fact, you have to go with the notion that we can win by three goals in order to get a decent price.

I think it has to be remembered that whilst we perhaps laboured to the 2-0 win in our last game against Galati, we ourselves went into that game under some pressure after our own indifferent start to the campaign. Had we won our opening two games then we may well have won that one far more convincingly and I think we would have scored earlier.

Galati don’t concede too many and so there’s an element of risk to this bet but I really do believe that we can play with a bit more relaxation in this one tonight – not complacency and not taking Galati lightly – but back to our more free-flowing football where the players play on instinct rather than thinking about every little detail.

Galati are almost certain to be overwhelmed by the occasion and, if we can get at them early and grab an early goal then I do believe that we can go on to score at least three.

The bet is 2 points Man Utd -2.5AH @ 2.02 with Bet365.

Playing a game just 48 hours after your last is not something is normally welcomed but for most United fans, this match couldn’t come quickly enough. A different day, a different competition, a different challenge.

It was also, obviously, quite a different team than the one that went down against Manchester City at the weekend.

Ben Amos was given a chance in goal and did superbly well. The defensive line-up was Fabio on the right, Vidic and Jones in the centre and young Fryers was given the chance to build on his fantastic display in our first game against Leeds but this time played over on the left and, as far as I could see, didn’t put a foot wrong again all evening.

Seeing Vidic get through a full 90 minutes was great but, as usual, he sailed close to the wind on occasion and picked up a booking for a messy foul with the game barely a few minutes old – he probably needed this 90 minutes and it cast some light on why he wasn’t selected for the game against City at the weekend.

The midfield was something along the lines of Diouf on the left, Valencia on the right with Park and Cleverly in the middle.

Cleverley managed to get in an hour on this is comeback from injury so that was a welcome sight and Park put in a typically hard-working performance and added some composure to the midfield.

Up front, we had Owen and Berbatov and these two – Berba, in particular, did their causes no harm whatsoever with fine displays.

Anyway, the game itself was probably as you would expect, United dominating possession throughout and piling the pressure on Aldershot from the off. As already mentioned, Berba had a great game and really did look like he had a point to prove. He often gets accused of being lazy (or at least, looking a bit disinterested at times) but that criticism couldn’t be leveled at him in this game – he was everywhere and he thoroughly deserved his goal to open the scoring after fifteen minutes and then played a fantastic assist for Owen to grab our second just before half-time.

However, there was one moment later in the game which perhaps sums Berba up. He went on a fantastic run almost from one box to the other, showing great strength and determination to get himself into a position where a goal looked likely only to slip it wide with an almost nonchalant effort. It could be that he was just knackered after such a lung-bursting run or it could just have been Berba being Berba –   it’s hard to decide but it is moments such as those that divide people’s opinion of him to such an extent.

However, for a guy who has almost become a forgotten man this season, he showed great character in this game and did as much as anyone else on the pitch.

The goal of the match, however, was our third which came just after half-time from Antonio Valencia. With the ball at his feet, hovering a few yards outside the penalty area, everyone expected him to try to pick out a pass or perhaps attempt to go back down the outside but he stunned everyone by unleashing a terrific swerving drive that beat the Aldershot keeper all over the place. It was so good and so unusual that even Antonio himself broke into a smile.

Whilst we always looked in control here, Aldershot had one or two chances of their own, especially towards the end of the match when Fergie started to make his changes (Michael Keane on for Fryers, Paul Pogba on for Cleverly, Ravel Morrison on for Diouf) and we perhaps started to take our foot off the gas but the timing of our second and third goals (just before and after half time) had knocked most of the stuffing out of the Aldershot players who were just looking for a souvenir of the occasion by the end of the game.

And so we go through to the Fifth Round, another 3-0 victory with plenty of the youngsters getting their chance to shine.

We are, of course, now getting towards the stage of the competition where getting drawn against tougher opposition is inevitable but I hope that Fergie will give these lads another chance if the draw is kind to us again when it is drawn this Saturday.