Well, I haven’t even had time to do a review of the City match (I’ve had chance to watch it through again though and it was less painful to watch than I thought it was as I do intend to give my thoughts on the match) but such is life as for anyone involved with Manchester United that we have to put Sunday’s game behind us and pick ourselves us for another important match just two days later.

Yes, tonight, we travel to Aldershot Town for our Carling Cup Fourth Round match.

Aldershot are currently playing their football in League Two which is obviously now the fourth tier in English football so there’s quite a distance between the two teams but I think it is fair to say that Fergie will be fielding a team tonight that will be unrecognisable from the one that plays in the Premier League.

We saw a few clues in our opening Carling Cup campaign as he handed debuts to the likes of Pogba, Fryers and Cole and whilst Cole didn’t really get enough time to make any impression either way, Fryers looked very good and Pogba improved as the match progressed. Of the three, I would certainly expect Pogba to feature tonight and it might even be that Fergie plays the other two and maybe even a couple more of the young reserves at some stage.

However, it won’t be a complete team of kids, we do have some of the senior players in need of action and, similar to the first game in this competition against Leeds, this might be the chance to give the likes of Owen and Berbatov a run.

As for Aldershot, well, they enjoyed a very good result over the weekend as they beat Dag & Red 5-2 away from home but that came on the back of four straight league defeats and it is their home form which has been letting them down somewhat having won just one of their six games at the Recreation Ground so far this season.

It seems pointless trying to analyse this one too much but I think we’ll win here tonight. We’ve done well in this competition for several years now and whoever Fergie picks will play to the best of their ability and, given the talent we have in the youth ranks allied with the top notch pros we have in the experienced ranks, that is often more than enough for most teams and it will come as almost as big a shock as Sunday’s result should we get a thumping here tonight.

Picking a decent bet isn’t easy though. The bookies expect us to win and win easily. They also seem to think that there will be at least three goals scored but, judging by the prices, seem to think that Aldershot will score at least one goal of their own and I’m not too convinced about that so the bet is going to be based on us keeping a clean sheet.

The bet is 3 points Both Teams to Score NO @ 1.83 with Stan James.

With this week’s opponents being Manchester City, it completes something of a “full set” for Manchester United in that we have now faced all five of the teams that finished in last season’s top six – that this has happened after just nine games shows just what a tough start we have had.

We’ve been a little fortunate in that most of these games have been at home with only last weekend’s trip to Anfield not following suit. However, as we have picked up ten points from the four games so far then that is probably as good a return from a tough set of fixtures than we have any right to ask for.

However, us greedy United fans will be demanding another three this afternoon – luckily, our players are even greedier than we are and there can be no doubt that they will be demanding it of themselves.

I’m not entirely sure what the situation is now but after around five games, we were apparently on our best ever start to a league campaign under Sir Alex but I would have thought that twenty points from our opening eight games must still be one of our best ever starts too – which only goes to show how well City have started with twenty-two from a possible twenty-four.

I do feel that someone’s “o” will go today though. A draw cannot be ruled out and it may well be that both teams would accept a point if offered to them now but something big is there for the taking should either team be brave enough to go for it.

I feel that whilst City have enjoyed a great start, their toughest opponent so far in the Premier League has been Tottenham and there was no great surprise about any of their other victories. What has been interesting, however, has been their Champions League campaign. Now, our own CL campaign hasn’t exactly been devastatingly impressive but there has been an element of complacency about our campaign. Manchester City have no such excuses – they have been drawn in a tough group and they have generally struggled to show anything like their Premier League form so far and they were given an absolute lesson when they met Bayern Munich – a team that is perhaps on a similar level to ourselves.

All things considered, I believe that we have to go into this game with confidence. Old Trafford is a fortress and we are currently on a winning run there that stretches back to when West Brom held us to a 2-2 draw around this time last year – twenty games ago.

I also believe that as good as Manchester City’s squad is, there are actually very few of their players who I would swap with our own. Off the top of my head, I think we could possibly find a place for Kompany, Silva and Aguero but beyond that, I’m not too sure.

As for a team selection prediction this afternoon well… this has been very difficult so far this season and Fergie has seemingly taken an almost perverse delight in putting out teams that leave most onlookers completely bewildered but I do believe that we’ll see something a little more predictable today.

Recent swaps and changes in the defence appear to have been made with this game in mind and it does look like the Vidic/Ferdinand partnership could finally be ready to resume duties in the centre with Evra on the left and De Gea in goal.

The right-back position remains hard to predict and it could be that we see Smalling out there again today although Jones is obviously an option but a lot depends on the guess about the Rio/Vida thing being correct.

The midfield has to have Young and Nani on the wings for me but the centre is a little harder to guess at but I will have a stab at Anderson and Fletcher.

Rooney and Hernandez up front again unless Fergie goes with a five man midfield in which case I’d go for Park somewhere in the middle and Rooney alone upfront.

As for a prediction on the result, well this is a tough one and one that really shouldn’t be touched in terms of betting but there should be goals in this game and perhaps even a fair few bookings if things get a little heated down there but, given the price on offer then I think a straight punt on United to win is decent enough value.

The bet is 2 points United to Win @ 2.25 with William Hill.

Given that we appeared to have been handed a very “easy” group stage this season, I think most people expected United to be sitting at the top of it with at least four points next to our name by this point – I certainly did but whilst the draw against Benfica away was perhaps a decent enough result, the nature of our 3-3 draw against Basel at Old Trafford still rankles with me and we now find ourselves under a bit of pressure.

I might be totally out of order here but I do wonder if, after three Champions League Finals in four years (and a quarter final in the other year) we are starting to get a little too complacent and perhaps even “irritated” by these group matches. Do we perhaps see them as “small fry” that must be endured before we get to the meaty stuff that are the quarter-finals and the semi-finals etc?

Would it perhaps have actually been better had we found ourselves drawn in a group similar to the one Manchester City have found themselves in?

The way we surrendered that 2-0 lead at Old Trafford against Basel was one of the most un-Manchester-United-like things I have seen in an awful long time and suggested that we basically switched off and felt that the game was as good as won. Complacency.

Well, if that was indeed the case then the result of taking any team in this competition lightly is now there for all to see and there is now just a faint hint of an alarm bell ringing and it is hoped that this provides the wake-up call that we need and we get our campaign back on track in this one.

I must admit that I don’t know much about Otelul Galati other than that they qualified for this tournament by winning the Romanian Liga I last season but have been quite underwhelming so far this season and are in mid-division after ten games played.

Looking at their two previous games in this group stage tells the story of their season it seems. They have lost both games but only by narrow margins (2-1 and 1-0) and scoring goals appears to be their main problem. They have scored just eight goals in their ten domestic league games.

Of course, with the way our defence has shaped up at times this season then this might be the game where they suddenly become a goal machine but it is hard to see it and I do actually believe that our defence is looking a little more settled of late and certainly De Gea inspires a lot more confidence than he perhaps did in his opening couple of matches for us.

So, I am generally of the opinion that Otelul won’t score more than one goal in this game if they score at all but that we continue to show that we always have a goal or two in us – especially when we need a goal or two.

This is another tricky one to bet on though as there are too many unknowns however, I feel that if we are going to win this game then we will win by a good couple of goals and the price isn’t too bad on such a thing happening.

The bet is 3 points Manchester United -1.5AH @ 1.82 with Victor Chandler.

Well, what a game to get your weekend underway with! Already this season we have played three of last season’s top six (we can’t play ourselves of course) and after this match we will have played them all except Manchester City but I must admit that this is the one that has got the pulse racing that little bit faster than the others.

Possibly because it is an away fixture whereas the others were at Old Trafford and I’m always fairly confident of beating anyone at home but Anfield against a Liverpool side that fancies themselves as challengers again is a different kettle of fish entirely.

Up until recent years, we actually had a very good record at Anfield and we would regularly pop over and help ourselves to a point or three but for the last three seasons, Liverpool have really got our number and have beaten us each time. They even had the audacity to give us a 4-1 stuffing at old Trafford a couple of years ago but we won’t go into that here.

What is quite incredible about games between us is that they rarely end in a draw. In fact, the only one in the last twenty meetings came in 2005 when the game ended goalless.

It is interesting that Vidic could well be back for this one because on the one hand, I do believe that our defence is in desperate need of his solidity but on the other hand, good old Nemanja has developed something of a habit of getting himself sent off whenever we play Liverpool – three times he has seen red when we have played them!

Surely the chances of it happening again are slim though and it will be great to see him back if that is what Fergie decides.

The rumour going around is also that Ferdinand will partner Vidic in the centre of defence and, if that’s true then I think it will be for the best in this game as the experience and composure that those two bring to the table will help De Gea enormously.

As for the rest of the team, it’s a tough one to call – especially in midfield but I do believe that Fergie will put out what he believes is his strongest possible eleven for this one which is going to be interesting to see.

I did hear some rumours that Cleverley could be fit for this one but I would say that it’s unlikely that he will start, even if fit and I expect Fergie to go with the Carrick/Fletcher central midfield with Rooney dropping deep to help out and getting forward to assist Hernandez.

Nani and Young seem the likeliest on the wings and it would be great to see Nani play a blinder (and perhaps even score a goal) after what Carragher did to his leg last season.

As for a prediction… well, my predictions so far this season have been worse than useless and this isn’t the kind of game to go making bold predictions about because anything could happen.

However, I can see goals in the game and I think the price on the Over 2.5 goals is decent enough to be worth a small punt.

The bet is 2 points Over 2.5 Goals @ 1.95 with Bet365.

Some good news coming out over the last day or two was that Rooney and Hernandez should be fit to return for this match (Jonny Evans is also fit again after his recent injury, apparently) and whilst scoring goals has hardly been our problem of late, I just feel that the team functions far better with Rooney in the side.

Sir Alex has been warning the players that they must lose the “cavalier” attitude they have adopted this season if they are to win the Premier League and I must admit to having mixed feelings on that because it has been brilliant to watch but watching us lift a trophy at the end of the season is just as enjoyable!

If it wasn’t for that “cavalier attitude” then we never would have seen the 8-2 demolition of Arsenal – a result which will forever go down in footballing history, we never would have seen the players publically rebuke Michael Carrick for playing a backpass when we were beating Chelsea 3-1 … and we probably never would have seen Basel come to Old Trafford and go ahead after being 2-0 down!

Anyway, Norwich are our opponents today and the visit of Basel in midweek was probably ideal preparation for this one. We’re expected to blow Norwich away in much the same way as we were expected to blow Basel away and so the midweek shocker will be fresh in the minds of everyone – nothing can be taken for granted in this game.

For a newly promoted team, Norwich have been ticking along quite nicely and currently sit in upper mid-division after two wins in their last two games but, to be honest, they have had an fairly nice fixture list in which to ease themselves into life at the top with Chelsea being by far their hardest opponents so far (and they were beaten 3-1 at Stamford Bridge in that game).

So, you simply have to expect Manchester United to continue their run of wins at Old Trafford in this one this afternoon and the only question is: by how many?

A win by a good three goals would not come as a surprise but, whilst Norwich have conceded at least one goal in every game so far this season, those three conceded against Chelsea were the most anyone has scored against them – in all of their other matches, their opponents have only managed one goal so, whilst I am wary of underestimating our goalscoring ability again, it is probably worth bearing this in mind before going crazy on an Asian Handicap bet (the Manchester United AH -2.5 is temptingly priced at 2.23 with Victor Chandler, for example).

No, I think I’m going to stick with a bet that won in our last match (and would have won in most of our games this season) and go for an early goal.

The bet is 3 points on the first goal being scored within 27 minutes @ 1.70 with Victor Chandler.

With five wins from our opening five matches, this is apparently our best ever start a League campaign under Sir Alex Ferguson (I actually found that stat hard to believe at first but there it is) and this would appear to be a decent opportunity to extend that to six from six if past results are anything to go by.

Since Stoke came into the Premier League a few seasons ago, we have beaten them every time we have met them whether it be at the Britannia Stadium or Old Trafford. Obviously, the games at their place tend to be closer but we have won all the same.

However, Stoke have become a solid Premier League outfit and this is largely down to their solid home form – very few teams go to the Britannia in a season and come away with three points and already this season, they have taken four points from two games there and those games were against Liverpool and Chelsea so that gives some idea of the task that lies ahead of us this afternoon.

The main problem I have had this season and the reason why my predictions have all gone largely awry is largely because I have underestimated us. I think we can’t score three goals and then we go and score five. I think a game will be tight and then we go and win 8-2. I think Wayne Rooney cannot possibly score in five consecutive matches and then he does exactly that. I think our defence will get found out and they keep a clean sheet!

It is time for this to stop, I think. This Manchester United squad look ravenous at the moment. They are hungrier for goals to such an extent that last weekend against Chelsea when I think the score was still 3-0, Michael Carrick played a backward pass in order to keep possession and almost the entire team turned on him and gave him a piece of their mind. They don’t just want to win games, they want to blow their opponents out of the water. They want to attack and score from the first minute until the last and if they concede one or two along the way, they brush it off and go looking for a few more of their own.

It’s just a far cry from the fairly low-scoring but functional nature of many of our performances, particularly away from home, in recent seasons and it has taken me a little bit of time to come to terms with it.

So, whilst I am wary that this is an away fixture against a very good home side, I feel that the best thing to do at this moment is to trust in the players to continue in the same vein until proven otherwise. Suddenly six wins from six doesn’t seem unlikely. For Rooney to score in those six matches doesn’t seem unlikely, either.

I’m going to stick my neck out and believe that we can win this one 2-0 or 3-1.

The bet is 2 points Manchester United -1.5 AH @ 2.6 with Bet365.

This competition has long been viewed as considerably less important to Manchester United than the other three (unless it’s the only trophy we win and then it becomes a “major trophy of considerable importance”!) and I guess the fact that we have been handed this fixture a mere 48 hours after such a massive Premier League match and no one on the United side appears to have complained (there’s no reason why this match could not have been played on Wednesday, as far as I can see) and no one on the Carling Cup organisational committee appear to have noted that this might not be an ideal placement for the fixture as far as we’re concerned would suggest that all parties are accepting of and comfortable with the fact that the top teams are going to use it as an opportunity to experiment with personnel.

And this is undoubtedly what will happen here tonight as several of the players who played against Chelsea on Sunday will likely be sat up in the stands wearing a suit and tie and nowhere near the pitch. Amongst these, I would expect the likes of Nani, Young, Rooney and perhaps Evra for starters.

Our defence is a bit threadbare at the moment and I really can’t see Fergie risking Rio in a game like this so he’s either going to stick with the Jones, Smalling, Evans trio (with perhaps Fabio taking Evra’s place) or he’s going to spring a big surprise and perhaps even bring in Wes Brown’s younger brother, Reece into the defence – certainly if not now then when?

The option of Valencia at right-back is another possibility.

The midfield is going to be interesting and whilst we have plenty of senior players in need of minutes (Fletcher, Carrick, Giggs, Park etc) Fergie has said that he will be playing Paul Pogba which might just be Fergie being Fergie or it might be the truth and I, for one, hope he’s being serious because this lad has me very excited.

For those who haven’t had the opportunity to see Pogba play yet, let me just tell you that he’s a tall, powerful midfielder who is developing a reputation for scoring spectacular long-range goals and, despite being just 18 years of age and probably still in need of some physical development, looks set to be a top, top player. Whilst an away fixture at a cauldron such as Elland Road might not be the ideal fixture in which to bring him through, it could be argued that if he can handle it then that will be one big tick against his name and a step in the direction of him playing a more regular role as the season progresses.

Up-front, if Fergie does play two strikers then we’re probably looking at two from Berba, Owen and Macheda and I wouldn’t like to guess which combination he will go for there although I would like to see Owen play as he still does the business when called upon but hasn’t been given a chance so far this season. However, if Fergie is going to use this one to give some of the younger players a chance then I would love to see Will Keane given an chance because he’s been a favourite of mine for a couple of years now. He reminds me of Solskjaer in that, to look at him, you’d just think that he just looks like a sweet, harmless lad but put him in front of goal and he turns into a deadly assassin!

As for Leeds, well, what can I say? We took them a bit too lightly, I think, when we played them in the FA Cup last year and we paid the price as they beat us 1-0 at Old Trafford and that lesson should be fresh in the memory of even those who didn’t play that day and with this being at Elland Road, they will be looking to repeat the feat in front of their passionate home support.

Certainly, I think we can expect them to play in a manner that belies their current mid-Championship table position – they always do when Manchester United are in town.

This could make for a feisty encounter with tackles flying in all over the place and I believe the referee for this one is Mike Jones who was the ref for the Tottenham/Liverpool game over the weekend which saw two Liverpool players sent off. Indeed, he has already dished out sixteen yellows and three reds in four games in charge so far this season – I suspect he will add to this tally tonight and that could end up being an important aspect of this game.

Due to the large number of unknowns as regards our line-up (and then the unknown of how well they will play together – we often struggle to look like a cohesive unit when too many changes are made) it is difficult to make any kind of prediction as to the result here. The bookies seem to be convinced that we will win by a score of 2-1 and that does sound feasible but I wouldn’t bet on it.

However, I do have to put forward a bet and, so far, my predictions have been pretty appalling this season with several “close but no cigar” calls made.

I am going to have a tiny dabble on the bookings for this one and I do believe that it will be Leeds who pick up the most.

The bet is going to be 1 point Leeds United to pick up the most booking point @ 2.00 with BlueSQ.

United’s tough start to the season continues this afternoon with an eagerly anticipated class with the team that I still expect to provide our closest challenge come the end of the season – Chelsea.

Fergie was saying something in his Press Conference yesterday about how Chelsea have escaped a lot of the media glare in the opening few matches of the season because all the attention has been focused on ourselves and Manchester City and something was going through my mind as I watched some of Chelsea’s match against Bayer Leverkusen in midweek.

If you take our European results into account then Chelsea’s start to the season has been just as good, result-wise, as our own and Manchester City’s with four wins and a draw but they are almost being treated by the media as “yesterday’s news”. Of course, this is largely down to the fact that ourselves and City have been banging in the goals and mostly winning pretty impressively whilst Chelsea have been winning without fireworks and also the fact that the two Manchester teams going at each other in a genuine two-way competition for the first time in decades makes for a great story and Chelsea aren’t part of it.

What this has meant is that their new coach, Andre Villas-Boas, has had a fairly smooth easing into his new role without his every last move (and mistake) scrutinised in the way that his many recent predecessors did and at the moment he looks like a very relaxed man who’s finding this English Premier League lark quite easy.

Our job this afternoon, of course, is to ensure that he travels home in no doubt as to the size of the task he has taken on. We’re not Stoke, we’re not Sunderland, we’re not Norwich or West Brom.  This is Manchester United and this is Old Trafford. We are the Champions, we intend to keep that title and we relish the challenge.

As I said, I watched some of Chelsea’s Champions League game in midweek and I was quite shocked at how pedestrian they looked. This was, of course, 24 hours before our own pretty uninspiring performance against Benfica on Wednesday where we looked equally pedestrian. The difference is that I had been watching a largely first-team Chelsea whereas our team against Benfica, whilst littered with quality, was a team half-full of players that have barely kicked a ball this season.

And this is where Fergie was cute on Wednesday as it gave him the chance to rest players like Ashley Young, Phil Jones and Anderson completely and give the likes of Nani little more than a run out so all of those players who have been part of our more exciting displays this season, if picked this afternoon, will be as fresh as daisies and raring to go again.

As a result, I hope to see our players get back to that high-tempo passing game which will hopefully bamboozle Chelsea as much as it has done most of our opponents so far this season. If we can do this and it all goes to plan then there’s a chance that this game could be won more comfortably than usual.

However, Chelsea do need to be respected and will certainly pose a threat to our defence which still looks slightly dodgy at times and a goal from them would not come as a surprise (I actually have this recurring thought that Torres might actually score it – players who haven’t scored for ages do tend to find their scoring boots against us, it seems).

This is not really a match I would like to get too heavily involved in from a betting perspective, so many things could happen. It could be another goal-fest, it could end 1-0 either way or even 1-1.

But, I do believe that there will be 2 or 3 goals scored and that is going to be the bet.

The bet is 2 points 2 or 3 Goals Scored @ 1.95 with Bet365.

Incidentally, Bet365 are running a special offer on this match today which means that you can get a free in-running bet on the match. See their website for full details.

If everything goes as expected in this group then we’re probably going to be watching the two teams that will progress from Group C here tonight and so this does appear to be – on paper, at least – our toughest game of the group this season.

However, the way we are playing at the moment, I would fancy our chances of progressing from a group which included any three other teams in the world. There really does appear to be a buzz around Manchester United at the moment and, after perhaps three or four seasons of a more restrained, considered, patient style of play, the shackles have been loosed and the players have just been told to get back to the old ways of “we’ll score more than you”.

Whether this will be carried over into this competition (which remains something of a Holy Grail for Fergie) remains to be seen and already we have seen reports from the boss that he is likely to go with a more experienced line-up for this one. In some respects, his hand has been forced in one or two positions as the impressive young Cleverley has now joined the impressive young Welbeck on the treatment table following the ligament damage he suffered against Bolton at the weekend.

What this meant was that Carrick played virtually the whole match against Bolton which we won 5-0 and so I’d expect him to continue in the middle for this one. This then leaves the boss with a decision to make about Anderson and it may well be that he decides he deserves a breather for this one and with Fletcher in need of a game, this might be the time for it although Giggs made an appearance against Bolton and so he could be the one to come in.

Whoever the boss picks, he needs to get it right because it is almost certain that Benfica will play with a five-man midfield and whoever plays in the midfield will have to expect a busy shift which perhaps tends to suggest that players like Fletcher and Park might be the better options.

In defence, it looks like we’ll look more or less the same as we did against Bolton but, of course, Smalling will likely go back to the right with Evans and Jones in the centre (although, the way Jones played on the right against Bolton, it wouldn’t be a massive surprise to see Smalling take the central berth). Evra will likely play on the left and De Gea, who appears to be finally settling after a shaky start, has to be allowed to continue in goal at this stage, I would have thought.

Up-front, I cannot see any further than Rooney and Hernandez with Rooney perhaps dropping deep to help out in that busy midfield.

And that team should have more than enough to cope with whatever Benfica have to offer. The only question is how ambitious we want to be in this opening game. Given the challenge we face domestically this season, there does seem to be an enormous advantage to putting this group stage to bed as soon as possible and, if it can be done in four or five games then that will obviously pay dividends by Matchday Six which comes just before the busy Christmas period.

So, if it is true that this perfectly winnable game for us is going to be the toughest challenge in the group then it does perhaps make sense to just go for it and attempt to win the game.

We will probably know how we intend to go about it within five minutes of the kick-off. If we come bursting out of the blocks and go straight for the jugular then we’ll be going for the steamroller job here. If we come out playing cautiously then it could well be that Fergie is eyeing something similar to what we did against our away opponents last season – keep the clean sheet and attempt to nick a goal for a 1-0 win.

Personally, I just feel that United are playing with such fluency at high tempo at the moment that Fergie couldn’t hold them back even if he wanted to and we’ll just end up playing our natural game and with the rich scoring vein some of our players are in at the moment coupled with the fact that Benfica don’t appear to be the strongest team defensively, I can only see goals. Rooney, in particular, appears to be on a mission to make this his best season ever both in terms of overall performance and in terms of goal-scoring and I’m sure that he’d love to finish this tournament as the highest scorer.

As for a bet in this one, I am actually sorely tempted to go for the -1.5 AH on Manchester United which can be had at 3.70 with Bet365 because I really do believe that we can win this one quite comfortably but I suspect that that would require us to keep a clean sheet and Benfica are certainly capable of scoring (and, of course, we are certainly capable of conceding – clean sheets haven’t really been our strong point so far this season) so I think I’m just going to stick with the outright win for United.

We can win it, it goes without saying that a win is the result that would benefit us the most for numerous reasons and I do believe that this is what we will be going out to achieve.

The bet is 3 points United to win @ 2.05 with Unibet.

By the time we kick-off against Bolton this evening, the results of matches featuring all of our main title rivals will already be known and it does seem highly unlikely that we’ll still be at the top of the league at that stage – what effect this will have on the team obviously remains to be seen.

However, Fergie will doubtless be stressing the importance of just getting our own job done and not paying too much attention to what goes on elsewhere – like he won’t be watching the results himself as they come in!

Our record against Bolton has generally been very good down the years and they have only managed to win this fixture once in the last nine (a 1-0 win almost four years ago) but there have been a few draws in the fixture down the years, including a 2-2 draw last season when we twice had to come from behind to grab a point.

Of course, our away record last season was generally pretty mediocre and we registered far more draws than we would normally get away with for a title winning campaign and I am still not 100% convinced that our away form has picked up. We obviously looked good in our two home games this season but our opening day away match against West Brom smacked of more of the same to me as we laboured to a 2-1 victory which could so easily have ended in another draw.

Bolton are generally pretty decent at home and didn’t lose too many there last season but they suffered a reverse in their only home match of this season so far – a 3-2 defeat against Manchester City.

What is going to be interesting to see this afternoon is exactly who Fergie puts on the field. Obviously, several of our players were involved in international matches in the last week or so and we get our Champions League campaign off with a tricky away tie against Benfica on Wednesday so these factors will probably influence his decision but it does seem to be a shame to make too many changes to a team that has been playing so well so maybe he’ll stick with more or less the same team that played Arsenal and make the changes for Benfica?

He was quoted in yesterday’s press conference as saying that Valencia will make the squad for this match and so I’m guessing that whilst Young will start, he will be subbed in order to give Valencia a run for the last 15-30 minutes or so and I’m looking forward to seeing Valencia back on the pitch again but he’s going to have to go some to displace Nani and Young in those wide positions on a regular basis, it seems.

Welbeck has started this season well and it is unfortunate that he suffered an injury in the game against Arsenal which will keep him out for this one but Hernandez is on the comeback trail after his own injury and should start alongside Rooney here but Rooney is another I wouldn’t be too surprised to see subbed in the latter stages should we get into any kind of lead.

The central midfield areas are going to be interesting – so far Anderson and Cleverley have been given the nod more often than not but I do wonder if Fergie might spring a surprise by bringing either Carrick or even Fletcher back in order to give one of those two a breather.

And then we have the defence – apparently Vidic remains injured but I believe Rio is fit but Evans, Jones and Smalling have all proved able deputies in the defensive positions and I suspect that Fergie might save Rio for the Benfica game.

De Gea looks likely to continue in goal and it will be interesting to see how he copes with the aerial threat of a player like Kevin Davies.

As for a prediction: well, the bookies seem to think that this will be a routine win for United but I would just like to see us put in a couple of convincing away displays before going overboard on the outright win. The markets I think are best looked into for games between these two sides are the ones involving goals because games between us are usually fairly high-scoring affairs and our games generally (when not playing one another) have usually been high scoring.

All three of our matches and all three of Bolton’s matches this season have featured at least three goals and I see no reason why today should be any different. However, the bookies do seem to be of the same view and so the price isn’t too great (around 1.65 at best).

So, perhaps looking at the Both Teams to Score market is the way to go and that’s what I suggest here.

The bet is 3 points Both Teams to Score @ 1.83 with Betfred.